PRIVY COUNCIL

Parliamentary Questions

John Bercow: To ask the President of the Council 
	(1)  how many staff were involved in each of the last three years in preparing draft answers to written parliamentary questions;
	(2)  what the cost was to his Department of answering written parliamentary questions in 2001; and how that cost was calculated.

Robin Cook: In the parliamentary Session 2001–02 beginning on 9 June and up until 29 January 2002, 41,366 parliamentary questions were asked to this Government, at a cost of answering of over £5 million.
	For the average cost of a parliamentary question, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Financial Secretary, on Thursday 11 April 2002, Official Report, column 582W.
	Each Department has a parliamentary section responsible for co-ordinating the preparation of draft answers to written parliamentary questions, drawing on the input of departmental officials.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Contracts

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will publish the (a) number and (b) value of contracts awarded by her Department to (i) Arthur Andersen, (ii) Deloitte Touche, (ii) Ernst and Young, (iv) KPMG and (v) PricewaterhouseCoopers accountants in each year since 1997.

Elliot Morley: DEFRA came into being on 8 June 2001. The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Contracts

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  which non- accounting and non-information technology external organisations which previously held contracts with her Department (a) won new contracts at the culmination of the existing contracts and (b) won new contracts after a period of inactivity with her Department in each of the past five years;
	(2)  if she will list the 30 largest contracts awarded by her Department from (a) May 1997 to April 1998, (b) May 1998 to April 1999, (c) May 1999 to April 2000, (d) May 2000 to April 2001 and (e) May 2001 to the latest date, indicating in each case the values of the contracts and the companies with which the contracts were placed;
	(3)  which non-accounting and non-information technology external organisations have won new contracts with (a) her Department and (b) executive agencies in each of the past five years.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 28 February 2002
	DEFRA came into being on 8 June 2001. The information can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Contracts

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the 30 largest contracts awarded by her Department from (a) May 1997 to April 1998, (b) May 1998 to April 1999, (c) May 1999 to April 2000, (d) May 2000 to April 2001 and (e) May 2001 to the latest date for which figures are available, stating in each case the values of the contracts and the companies with which the contracts were placed.

Elliot Morley: DEFRA came into being on 8 June 2001. The information requested can only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Sellafield

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what is the level of radioactive technetium found in boreholes within the vicinity of Sellafield.

Margaret Beckett: I understand that sampling and analysis of groundwater from nine boreholes on the Sellafield site and from one perimeter borehole has indicated the presence of technetium-99. The highest level found at an on-site borehole was 290 becquerels per litre. The level in the perimeter borehole was 0.2 becquerels per litre. An assessment has been made of the potential radiological impact of the presence of technetium-99 in groundwater and the Environment Agency is satisfied that this would be insignificant. The Agency and the Health and Safety Executive are working with BNFL to establish the source of the contamination. The regulators will then need to consider what further measures need to be taken.

Correspondence

James Cran: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when a substantive reply will be given to Mr. H. P. Atkinson's letter of 16 July 2001, concerning the 20 day movement restrictions.

Elliot Morley: I am sorry for the delay in replying to the hon. Member's letter. A reply was sent on 16 April.

Equipment Leasing

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the equipment leasing arrangements entered into by her Department in each of the last four years; and what the cost to public funds in each case is.

Elliot Morley: DEFRA came into being on 8 June, 2001. The information requested can only be provided at disproportionate cost.

PFI/PPPs

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what the total external spending by her Department was on public- private partnership consultants in each of the last four years; how many full-time equivalent consultants were employed over this period; how many billed consultancy days there were per year; what the implied average cost of each PPP consultant was; how many consultancy firms were used by her Department over this period; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  if she will list the functions of her Department that have been (a) market tested and (b) outsourced in each of the last five years, specifying the (i) money saving and (ii) percentage saving in each case;
	(3)  what the difference was between the price offered in reaching preferred bidder stage and the final contract price for PPP contracts let by her Department in each of the last four years; and if she will make a statement;
	(4)  what the difference was between the price offered in reaching preferred bidder stage and the final contract price for the five largest PFI contracts let by her Department in each of the last four years; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 25 March 2002
	DEFRA came into being on 8 June, 2001. The information can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Foot and Mouth

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  on how many infected premises slaughter was completed within 24 hours of a clinical diagnosis of the disease during the foot and mouth epidemic;
	(2)  on average how long after a clinical diagnosis of the disease slaughter was completed on the contiguous farms during the foot and mouth epidemic.

Elliot Morley: Information regarding the time taken to slaughter on infected premises is presented in two charts, copies of which have been placed in the Library.
	When looking at the charts the following should be taken into consideration:
	The charts show the percentage of infected premises culled out, on a weekly basis, within the 24-hour target and the number of infected premises culled out, on a weekly basis, within the 24-hour target.
	The 24-hour target policy was based upon the time from which suspicion of disease was first communicated to DEFRA offices, not the time and date of clinical diagnosis. The time to slaughter has been calculated as the difference between this time and date and the time and date by which all animals on each premises had been slaughtered.
	Premises which presently have missing dates, negative times to slaughter and times to slaughter greater than 500 hours have been excluded. The charts have been created from the data within DEFRA's Disease Control System Database and they may be subject to change as the data cleansing exercise is carried out.
	The charts are based on a majority of data held on DCS and give a representative picture of the times taken to slaughter.
	Although a total of 2,026 infected premises (IPs) were reported in the UK, the "time to slaughter" charts do not include IPs that were previously Dangerous contacts or slaughter on suspicion cases. These premises have not been included since, at the time, it would not have been identified that a 24-hour target was to be worked towards. The charts are based on around 1,500 premises, the final difference being down to missing dates and negative times to slaughter.
	The percentage target hit, on its own, does not reflect the number of premises that were having to be dealt with—a 50 per cent. hit may be representing a figure of two cases or 200.
	The charts do not give context to the underlying data. They obviously do not give any information regarding the reasons why culls may have taken longer than 24–48 hours, and cannot describe the practical difficulties faced by regional offices attempting to slaughter premises quickly in often extremely difficult circumstances. The count of premises slaughtered does not take into account the number of animals involved (size or herd) or the species.

Foot and Mouth

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make representations to the European Parliament inquiry into foot and mouth to include Somerset in their programme of visits.

Elliot Morley: It is a matter for the European Parliament Temporary Committee to decide their programme of visits.

Part-time Employees

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many and what proportion of the staff of her Department are part-time employees.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 10 April 2002
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Mr. Leslie) on 10 April 2002, Official Report, column 50W.

Chemical Weapons

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement about the number of chemical weapons dumped at sea and the potential risk they pose.

Lewis Moonie: I have been asked to reply.
	Detailed inventories of chemical weapons and other munitions disposed of to dumpsites at sea are no longer available, as many records were destroyed after the disposals as a matter of routine custom and practice. Where records of the disposals do remain in existence, they have been released to the Public Record Office. Information on the locations of sea disposals of chemical weapons has also been placed in the Library of the House. As to the potential risk posed by chemical weapons, the long-held consensus of international scientific opinion is that munitions on the seabed present no significant risk to safety, human health or the marine environment, provided they remain undisturbed.

Laying Hens (Welfare)

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she intends to lay the order for the laying hens welfare code; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: The laying hens welfare code will be laid before Parliament at the same time as the English regulations to implement the Welfare of Laying hens Directive 99/74/EC.

Laying Hens (Welfare)

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether her Department intends to make proposals for the introduction of the Laying Hens Welfare Code which go beyond those stated in the 1999 EU Directive on Welfare of Laying Hens 1999/74/EC; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: A new Welfare Code for Laying Hens will be published to accompany English regulations to implement the Welfare of Laying Hens Directive 99/74/EC. It is intended that the Directive will be implemented in England without being added to in any way. The Code focuses on the welfare outcome for the birds.

Laying Hens (Welfare)

Matthew Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she intends to carry out a full public consultation on changes to the Welfare of Laying Hens Directive.

Elliot Morley: A full public consultation on domestic Regulations to implement Council Directive 99/74/EC has already taken place. Any further proposed changes to the Regulations or Directive will be subject to another public consultation exercise.

Development (Special Urgency Provisions)

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how often in the last three years, and for what purpose, her Department has applied the special urgency provisions in paragraph 22 of circular 18/84 (Development by Government Departments).

Elliot Morley: holding answer 15 April 2002
	The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (and before 8 June 2001, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food) has not applied the special urgency provisions in paragraph 22 of Circular 18/84 (Development by Government Departments) over the last three years.

Floods

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what sources of EU funding are available for flood relief and prevention measures from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund; what the total is of such funds for which the UK is eligible in 2001–02; and what the total is of such funds which her Department has (a) applied for and (b) been allocated in 2001–02.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 15 April 2002
	No significant financial assistance is made available by the European Union to assist member states in the provision of flood and coastal defences.

Pet Passports

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on when she intends to allow the use of pet passports for the USA and Canada; and how the scheme will operate.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 16 April 2002
	In January 2001, the Pet Travel Scheme was extended to rabies-free islands, including Hawaii. Mainland USA and Canada have not been included in the scheme as it was concluded that doing so would increase the risk of importing rabies.
	However, the Government undertook to review the position of these countries. We have received a further assessment on the risk of importing rabies and a report on other zoonotic diseases which could be introduced to the UK if the scheme was extended to the USA and Canada. Both reports are being reviewed and evaluated. I hope to make an announcement on the conclusions of these reports shortly.
	The import of dogs and cats from the USA and Canada, along with other third countries, would become subject to EU rules if agreement is reached on a proposal from the Commission for a regulation on the animal-health requirements applicable to non-commercial movement of pet animals. This proposal will be discussed at the meeting of Agriculture Ministers on 22 and 23 April.
	The Government will need to take account of this proposal before reaching final decisions.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Insolvency Service

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to her Department's answer of 24 January 2002, Official Report, column 632W, on the Insolvency Service, what progress the Insolvency Service has made in centralising its administrative functions in areas of (a) lower growth and (b) high unemployment.

Melanie Johnson: The Insolvency Service will continue to seek to make best use of its existing estate and, wherever possible, to reduce its costs. The movement of work from areas and offices where there are pressures on accommodation or difficulties with recruitment or retention of staff to other offices is carried out where appropriate and the service has piloted a successful scheme to enable flexible, remote working by staff in its London office. The redevelopment of the service's IT systems over the next few years will increase the capability and capacity for such remote working and enable further savings in accommodation costs to be made.

Overtime Payments

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what her policy is on overtime payments for staff in her Department.

Patricia Hewitt: The Department is clear that overtime should be an exception. If regular overtime is required, management should consider how the work can be accomplished in ways other than by continued overtime.
	Where overtime is necessary, all staff below the senior civil service are entitled to receive payment, or time off in lieu, or both, for work carried out in addition to weekly conditioned hours (41 in London and 42 hours outside London).
	Staff in the senior civil service are not entitled to receive payment for overtime.
	For all staff working part-time, payments are made for additional hours worked up to the weekly conditioned hours. Payments for hours worked beyond net conditioned hours are available as above.

Small Businesses

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many smaller enterprises have benefited from the regional venture capital funds on an annual basis in each of the regions since the inception of the scheme.

Nigel Griffiths: The first regional venture capital funds only became operational in January 2002 so the information requested is not yet available.

Claims Direct

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many Claims Direct franchisees paid for their franchises with loans supported by her Department; how many such Claims Direct franchisees with such loans have become bankrupt; and if she will make a statement.

Nigel Griffiths: The Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme has assisted eight Claims Direct franchisees to set up their business. To date no claims have been made under the guarantee.

Ministerial Training

John Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much has been spent by her Department on training by the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art for Ministers and officials in each of the last five years.

Patricia Hewitt: The majority of the Department's training budget is allocated to individual directorates. Each directorate has responsibility for managing, monitoring and evaluating attendance at training events in line with the departmental business and training plans. Disproportionate costs would be incurred to collate the data centrally for the purposes of answering this question.

Ministerial Training

John Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much has been spent by her Department on training in leadership skills for Ministers and officials in each of the last five years

Patricia Hewitt: The Department centrally funds some leadership training. These figures, available for the last three years, are detailed in the table.
	
		
			   £ 
		
		
			 1 April 2001 to 31 March 2002 (1)592,064 
			 1 April 2000 to 31 March 2001 380,449 
			 1 April 1999 to 31 March 2000 276,444 
		
	
	(1) Provisional
	However, the majority of the Department's training budget is allocated to individual directorates. Each directorate has responsibility for managing, monitoring and evaluating attendance at training events in line with the departmental business and training plans. Disproportionate costs would be incurred to collate the data centrally for the purposes of answering this question.
	The Department also encourages the use of in-house mentors, coaches and job shadowing as a means of developing staff. Although recognised in terms of staff costs, this does not have a direct cash cost.

Costs

John Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much has been spent by her Department on voice coaching for Ministers and officials in each of the last five years.

Patricia Hewitt: The majority of the Department's training budget is allocated to individual directorates. Each directorate has responsibility for managing, monitoring and evaluating attendance at training events in line with the departmental business and training plans. Disproportionate costs would be incurred to collate the data centrally for the purposes of answering this question.

Construction Industry

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the names of those organisations which have made representations to her about the operation of the Construction Skills Certification Scheme.

Brian Wilson: Approximately 30 landscape firms, plus the British Association of Landscape Industries, have made representation about the operation of the Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS).
	Representations have also been received about the Major Contractors Group and their policy on the CSCS.

Healthcall

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to the answers of 11 March 2002, Official Report, column 671W and 10 April 2002, ref 48035, what penalties have been levied on Healthcall for (a) failure to provide reports fit for purpose and (b) reports delivered beyond 28 days targets.

Brian Wilson: The Department is unable to comment on the financial details with Healthcall as they are commercially confidential. However, the Department has worked very closely with Healthcall from the start of the scheme to ensure that services are being delivered efficiently and effectively. The proportion of MAP reports returned as "not fit for purpose" is being closely monitored and is falling. The figures in the answer of 11 March referred not just to "not fit for purpose" returns but included also substantive queries on the medical content of the reports.

Rail Safety

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had with highway authorities to ensure that contractors accessing pylons under construction are not endangering road bridges over railways.

Brian Wilson: I would expect the National Grid Company and its contractors to comply with the requirements of the highway authorities, for whom I am not responsible.

Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many SMEs are operating in Barnsley, East and Mexborough.

Nigel Griffiths: Within the Barnsley, East and Mexborough constituency there were 1,140 businesses registered for VAT with 1–249 employees in 2000, the latest year for which VAT statistics are available. Local labour force statistics provide an estimate of a further 3,000 self-employed individuals operating with no employees.

Private Finance Initiative

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many private finance initiative projects have been subject to refinancing after the contracts have been signed; and what has been the financial effect in each case.

Patricia Hewitt: None of my Department's PFI projects has been refinanced.

Construction Quality Mark

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what her Department is doing to make the public aware of the construction Quality Mark;
	(2)  what her Department is doing to encourage UK builders to apply for a construction Quality Mark.

Brian Wilson: I announced on the 12 March 2002, Official Report, column 891W, that the scheme will be rolled out across the country over a 3–4 year period. A Quality Mark Shadow Ownership Group has been set up and, at its first meeting on 19 April, will begin developing a comprehensive implementation strategy and detailed business plan. An announcement about the next stages of the roll out is expected after the first meeting.
	The DTI is working with a number of reputable trade bodies to fast-track their members into the Quality Mark scheme. Following recommendations in the pilot review, the scheme will be developing recruitment mechanisms, including subsidised registration costs, until a critical mass has been achieved.
	The DTI is also working with local authorities, financial services groups, consumer groups and others to promote the scheme to tradesmen and encourage the participation of the latter wherever possible.
	The national launch of the Quality Mark at the Ideal Home Show produced extensive television and radio coverage and articles in regional newspapers. The scheme is already being marketed successfully to consumers in Birmingham and Somerset through a variety of media, including Yellow Pages and Thomsons directories, household leaflet distribution with advertising and editorial coverage in a number of local papers and radio stations. Further targeted marketing will follow in new areas once sufficient numbers of builders and tradesmen are registered.
	There has been considerable interest from firms operating outside of the existing Quality Mark regions in England, Wales and Scotland. In these cases we have advised (and we will continue to advise) firms that there is nothing to stop them applying for the scheme.

Pay Gap

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make it her practice to collect and publish data relating to the pay gap between men and women by constituency.

Alan Johnson: The Office for National Statistics publishes data on the pay gap between men and women in the New Earnings Survey. However, in the case of some constituencies, the data is not sufficiently reliable for publication.
	Current trends in women's individual incomes have been explored in two studies published last year by the Women and Equality Unit (WEU). Copies of these reports are available on the WEU website.
	("http://www.womenandequalityunit.gov.uk/research/publications/ research_and_publications.htm")
	WEU Gender Briefing, which provides statistical briefing on the position of women compared with men in the labour market, is also available on the website.
	("http://www.womenandequalityunit.gov.uk/research/gender_briefing/ home.htm")
	There are no plans to commission further research into the gender pay gap by constituency.

Scroby Sands Offshore Generating Station

Anthony D Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she will announce her decision on Powergen Renewable Offshore Wind Ltd.'s application to build a 76 MW offshore generating station at Scroby Sands, off Great Yarmouth.

Brian Wilson: I have today granted consent under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 to Powergen Renewables Offshore Wind Ltd. for the construction and operation of a 76 megawatt offshore windfarm at Scroby Sands, off Great Yarmouth.
	This development marks a significant step forward for the wind industry. It is the first offshore windfarm development to be approved from the 18 potential sites identified by developers who successfully pre-qualified last year for Crown Estate seabed leases. Offshore wind in the UK can make a major contribution to climate change objectives, to secure electricity supplies, and to our economic well being through job creation and exports. I am very pleased that this potential is beginning to be realised.
	Copies of the Press Notice and the decision letter and consent are being placed in the Libraries of the House.

DEFENCE

Project Sponsorship

Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which of his Department's projects have received sponsorship since 1997, including (a) details of the sponsor, (b) the nature of the project, (c) the date of the project, (d) the total cost of the project and (e) the amount of money involved in the sponsorship deal.

Lewis Moonie: holding answer 11 April 2002
	In line with the Government's commitment in their response to the sixth report from the Committee on Standards in Public Life, it is the Department's intention to publish details of individual amounts of sponsorship valued at more than £5,000 concurrently with the departmental performance report.

Press Office

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total cost of running the Department's press office was in (a) 1996–97 and (b) the latest year for which figures are available.

Lewis Moonie: holding answer 10 April 2002
	Figures for 1996–97 are not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. For financial year 2001–02, the cost of running the Ministry of Defence's central press office was £981,000.

Press Office

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many press officers there were in his Department on (a) 1 May 1997 and (b) the latest available date.

Lewis Moonie: holding answer 10 April 2002
	Information for 1 May 1997 is no longer available.
	As at 15 April 2002, the Ministry of Defence's Corporate Communications division employed 20 press officers in its headquarters press office and in its regional network. In addition, Defence agencies, the permanent joint headquarters and the single service commands and units also employ personnel with a press officer function, some as a secondary task to their main role.

Sri Lanka

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received in the past 12 months regarding arms exports to Sri Lanka from representatives of the Tamil people.

Lewis Moonie: None.

Sri Lanka

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent meetings he has had with representatives of the Tamil people to discuss human rights issues in Sri Lanka.

Lewis Moonie: The Secretary of State for Defence has had no meetings with representatives of the Tamil people.

Sri Lanka

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received in the last 12 months regarding (a) arms exports to Sri Lanka from Britain and (b) their subsequent effect on the Tamil people; and if he will make a statement.

Lewis Moonie: There have been a number of approaches by UK companies in the past 12 months seeking marketing advice for potential sales to this region. We have given advice on these on a case by case basis making it clear that the advice given does not prejudge the outcome of an export licence application. All such applications are considered against the consolidated EU and national arms export licensing criteria. We will not issue an export licence where there is a clear risk that the goods might be used for internal repression or international aggression or to undermine regional stability.

Sri Lanka

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many times he has met representatives of the Government of Sri Lanka to discuss arms exports in each of the past five years;
	(2)  when he will next meet representatives of the Sri Lankan Government to discuss arms exports; and if he will make a statement.

Lewis Moonie: There have been no such meetings in the past and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence has no current plans to meet with representatives of the Government of Sri Lanka. The Government welcome the progress being made to achieve peace in Sri Lanka. Should we be asked, we would of course give positive consideration to any initiatives that might assist this process.

Shoeburyness

Ivan Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many complaints have been received in each of the past five years from households in the Tendring peninsula relating to alleged damage to their properties as a result of the activities at the Shoeburyness ranges.

Lewis Moonie: Our records are not in a form that readily enables provision of the information as requested. I will write to my hon. Friend following further analysis of the data and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Subsistence Payments

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what subsistence payments are payable to service men and women carrying out duties in the United Kingdom away from their base.

Adam Ingram: Service personnel who incur extra expense for food or accommodation while on temporary or detached duty in the UK are reimbursed via range of UK subsistence allowances. In the first instance, every effort is made to accommodate personnel in service messes where food and accommodation costs are paid direct by the Ministry of Defence. If service accommodation is used, £1.50 per 24-hour period can be claimed for incidental expenses.
	If service accommodation is unavailable, the preferred option is to arrange hotel B&B accommodation through MOD's Central Hotel Booking Service (CHBS) that make bookings within a set cost ceiling. Personnel can also book hotel accommodation direct and are then entitled to claim the cost up to a set ceiling of £50 per night. Personnel staying in a hotel may claim a total of £22.90 per 24-hour period to cover additional costs incurred for lunch, dinner and travel, and incidental expenses such as telephone calls or laundry. Alternatively, personnel may choose to stay with family or friends and claim £27.90 per 24-hour period to cover food, and other expenses.
	If no overnight accommodation is required and service messing is not available, then a daily subsistence rate of £4.25 for over five hours and £9.30 for over 10 hours can be claimed for meals. This range of subsistence allowances is designed for periods of up to 30 days after which a different set of accommodation allowances are normally used.

Service Accommodation

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate has been made of the funds being spent on the repeated repairs to service accommodation over the last five financial years.

Lewis Moonie: The defence estate currently consists of around 64,000 buildings. The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Type 22 Frigates

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to sell Type 22 frigates to Chile; what discussions his Department has had to this effect, and if he will make a statement.

Lewis Moonie: There are no current plans to sell surplus RN Type 22 frigates to Chile because of the lack of available vessels to offer in the immediate future. We have nevertheless maintained dialogue with the Chilean authorities over ship disposal issues to establish future possibilities.

Submarines

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many fleet submarines will be in service in 2009.

Adam Ingram: On current plans there will be nine fleet submarines in service in 2009. In the early years of the next decade this will increase to the SDR approved force level of 10. However, the introduction into service of the new ASTUTE class submarines and the arrangement of the long-term refit programme will enable sufficient submarines to be available to ensure that the Royal Navy is able to meet its standing commitments and fulfil contingent tasking prior to the establishment of the planned force levels.

Tornado F3

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Tornado F3 are fully operational with AMRAAM missiles; and what the operational inventory is of Tornado F3.

Adam Ingram: There are currently 94 Tornado F3 aircraft fully operational with AMRAAM missiles. The Tornado F3 Required Operating Fleet which is defined as the theoretical number of aircraft needed to support the operational task is 93.

Firearm Deaths

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 15 October 2001, Official Report, column 947W, how many members of HM armed services have (a) died and (b) been injured as a result of the discharge of firearms on or near military property (i) in Great Britain and (ii) overseas in each of the past eight years; what the results of (1) internal investigations and (2) coroner's inquest for each fatality were; where other soldiers were involved what disciplinary actions were taken; where papers were passed to the CPS, how many weeks were taken to reach a decision on prosecution; and what the result was.

Adam Ingram: The number of members of HM forces who have died as a result of the discharge of firearms in the last eight years is as follows:
	
		
			  Army Navy RAF  
			 Year of death UK Overseas UK Overseas UK Overseas Total 
		
		
			 1994 8 15 1 1 1 1 27 
			 1995 14 5 — — 1 — 20 
			 1996 9 8 — — — — 17 
			 1997 4 — — — 1 — 5 
			 1998 1 — — — — — 1 
			 1999 4 3 — — — — 7 
			 2000 1 8 1 — — — 10 
			 2001 5 4 — — — — 9 
			 Total 46 43 2 1 3 1 96 
		
	
	Note:
	Figures exclude the territorial army, reserves, foreign service personnel and the Gibraltar regiment.
	It is not possible to provide details of the exact location of each of these deaths or the results of the related coroner's inquests as this information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Nor is it possible to provide details of the number of injuries, owing to the current unreliability of data held as a result of the under reporting of sickness and injuries; this situation is, however, currently being addressed. I am withholding information on the result of internal investigations or any resultant disciplinary action in accordance with Exemption 12 of the Code of Practice of Access to Government Information.

Naval Manpower

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of the Royal Navy's manpower is committed to operations.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 3 April 2002, Official Report, columns 1019–20W.

Refits

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when HMS Talent's refit will commence; and how long it will last.

Adam Ingram: HMS Talent's refit is planned to start in spring 2003 and will last until early 2006.

Cadet Forces

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many cadets there are in (a) maintained schools and (b) independent school detachments;
	(2)  how many combined cadet forces and single service cadet detatchments there are in (a) maintained schools and (b) independent schools.

Lewis Moonie: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Sea Harriers

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether Harrier GR7 has a gun capability; and if it is planned that Harrier GR9/A will have a gun capability.

Adam Ingram: The Harrier GR7 does not have a gun capability, and we have no plans to give a gun capability to the GR9/A.

Sea Harriers

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many sorties were flown by (a) Harrier GR7 and (b) Sea Harrier in operations over Sierra Leone in 2000.

Adam Ingram: Between 11 May 2000 and 6 June 2000 inclusive, Harrier GR7 and Sea Harrier flew 147 and 134 sorties respectively, while deployed in support of operations in Sierra Leone.

Sea Harriers

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the integration work on Sea Harrier for ASRAAM has been completed; and at what cost.

Adam Ingram: The work to integrate Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile (ASRAAM) on Sea Harrier has been terminated in the light of the recent decision to withdraw the aircraft from service by 2006 which is earlier than originally planned.
	Expenditure on the ASRAAM integration programme did not exceed £1.2 million.

Sea Harriers

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when Harrier GR7 will be operational with (a) Brimstone and (b) Storm Shadow.

Adam Ingram: Following the upgrade of Harrier GR7 to GR9 standard, it is intended that the Brimstone anti-armour weapon will enter operational service on it in 2006.
	We do not currently intend to integrate Stormshadow on to Harrier GR9. The operation of Harrier GR9 from the CVS with Stormshadow will not be practical, due to the size and weight of the missile. In addition, it is not currently considered to be cost effective to integrate Stormshadow on to Harrier GR9 solely for land-based operations; this capability will be provided by Tornado GR4.

Sea Harriers

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent representations he has received from the Indian Government about the purchase of Fleet Air Arm Sea Harriers.

Lewis Moonie: Officials within the Ministry of Defence have received inquiries from representatives of the Government of India regarding the future availability of surplus Fleet Air Arm Sea Harriers. As part of its marketing strategy for the sale of these aircraft, the Disposal Services Agency will follow up all expressions of interests accordingly, subject, of course, to the normal export controls.

Sea Harriers

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what modifications need to be made to the Harrier GR7 for sustained operations at sea.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 13 March 2002, Official Report, column 1166–67W.

Balkans

Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on future plans for British military involvement in the Balkans.

Adam Ingram: NATO is currently undertaking a major review of its operations in the Balkans, entitled the "Joint Operational Area Review", the outcome of which will be discussed by NATO Foreign Ministers in May 2002. We welcome the review and remain committed to maintaining the military contribution to NATO peacekeeping in the Balkans. No decisions have been taken regarding the form that British military involvement will take following implementation of the review's findings.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Press Office

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the total cost of running the Department's press office was in (a) 1996–97 and (b) the latest year for which figures are available.

Jack Straw: holding answer 10 April 2002
	The total cost of running FCO's News Department in 2000–01 was £1,746,000. Comparable information for 1996–97 is not held as new costing software was introduced during the course of that year. The total cost for 1995–96 was £971,000 and for 1997–98 was £1,342,000.

Weapons of Mass Destruction

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 25 March 2002, Official Report, column 610, if he will place in the Library copies of the evidence possessed by Her Majesty's Government in respect of the status of programmes aimed at developing weapons of mass destruction respectively by (a) the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, (b) Iraq, (c) Libya and (d) Syria.

Ben Bradshaw: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 16 April 2002, Official Report, columns 861–62W.

Sunset Clauses

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which Bills introduced by his Department in the last five years have contained sunset clauses; and what plans he has for the future use of such clauses.

Jack Straw: None.

Uganda

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in how many cases in the last six months the high commission in Uganda has refused to see people who had interviews; how entry clearance officers at that high commission handle appointments; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: In response to the events of 11 September, and in the light of the specific security situation in Uganda, access to the visa section at the British high commission premises can only be granted to people who hold satisfactory evidence of their identity. I regret the need for this requirement but it is temporary, for the safety of our staff and members of the public and is necessary and proportionate in response to the perceived threat.
	Satisfactory identity documents are:
	a valid national passport,
	a verified refugee document issued by the Directorate of Refugees of the Office of the President of Uganda,
	a verified laissez-passer issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
	No record has been kept of the numbers of people who had appointments and who have not been able to enter the high commission. However, many of the applicants affected are relatives seeking family reunion with refugees who have settled in the UK, and others.
	Around 360 family reunion cases are outstanding in Kampala. Few of these applicants appear with satisfactory evidence establishing their identity or relationship with the sponsor in the UK and they have to be referred to the Directorate of Refugees or UNHCR.
	Following necessary inquiries with the Home Office, applicants who hold satisfactory documents of identity are offered the next available date for interview. In cases involving couples with children, if after the interview the applicant has still not been able to satisfy the entry clearance officer about the claimed relationship, DNA testing may be offered to avoid unnecessary refusal. Priority will be granted to applicants in cases involving genuine compassionate circumstances. Applicants unable to attend pre-arranged appointments as a result of the restrictions currently in place will be afforded priority consideration once the restrictions have been lifted.
	The security situation is kept under review and further announcements will be made if and when it changes.

Military Plutonium

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on progress made in respect of each of the three disposition projects for surplus military plutonium in Russia agreed in the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy non- Proliferation Working Group.

Ben Bradshaw: The European Union Joint Action for surplus weapons-grade plutonium in Russia involves seven projects in all.
	In the first project, 'Safety Regulations', Gosatomnadzor of Russia (GAN) is to establish new safety regulations covering the use of surplus weapons-grade plutonium as mixed oxide fuel in Russia. Of the total budget of 500,000 euros, contracts have been signed for 300,000 euros, and draft contracts to the value of 200,000 are being discussed, with signatures expected in May this year.
	In the second project, on a trial use of mixed oxide fuel, preliminary steps have been taken towards the loading of three lead test assemblies in a pressurised water reactor at Balakovo. Of a total budget of 1,300,000 euros, a contract has been signed for 5,000 euros, and the remaining contracts are under discussion.
	The third project is a study into the transport and storage of surplus weapons-grade plutonium in Russia, with a budget of 200,000 euros. Contracts are being prepared and should be placed around September this year.
	In the fourth project, a study of future high temperature reactors and ex-weapons plutonium disposition in Russia (in particular particle coated fuel burn rates), contracts are being prepared and should be signed around September this year. The budget for this project is 300,000 euros.
	The fifth project is a continuation of work on 'Safety Regulations'. In total, the EU Joint Action will finance the preparation of 12 to 16 regulatory documents. The budget is 1,300,000 euros. Draft contracts are being discussed for around 500,000 euros, and signatures are due in June.
	The sixth project is a continuation of the trial of mixed oxide fuel, with a budget of 1,500,000 euros. No contracts have yet been placed but all are due to be signed before June 2003.
	A seventh and final project, on 'Immobilisation', awaits progress in bilateral discussions currently taking place between Russia and Germany.

Convention on the Future of Europe

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans are in place to ensure that a public discussion takes place on the Convention on the Future of Europe.

Peter Hain: Since the Nice Declaration, the Government have been seeking a wide range of views on the future of Europe through regional visits, seminars, radio phone-ins and interviews. I have personally spoken to trade unions, businessmen, academics, students and other members of the public about the future of Europe. I have also undertaken a number of regional visits, including Cardiff last October, Edinburgh last November, Northern Ireland in February and South Yorkshire in March. That listening process is continuing, in parallel with the "listening phase" in the Future of Europe Convention. The coming months will see me making further regional visits, including to Birmingham in May and Liverpool in July. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs plans to visit the Devolved Administrations. There will be other activities focusing on the future of Europe, including a Youth Convention and Europe Day. In addition, a dedicated website providing for open and public discussion on the future of Europe will be established and open for contributions by the summer.

Nepal

Mohammad Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the situation in Nepal.

Ben Bradshaw: We are increasingly concerned about the Maoist insurgency in Nepal. We strongly condemn the Maoists' violence and intimidation against the Nepalese security forces and civilians. We are particularly concerned about recent attacks on food, water and electricity supplies and other economic, development and infrastructural targets. We urge the Maoists to disarm, renounce violence, and rejoin the peace process in good faith.

Sri Lanka

Mohammad Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on progress towards peace in Sri Lanka.

Ben Bradshaw: We warmly welcome the progress which the Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE have made towards a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Sri Lanka. As we have made clear to all concerned, the UK fully supports the Norwegian-facilitated peace process, and we look forward to the start of direct talks in the near future. We call on all sides to work together in the interests of all Sri Lankans. Any solution must satisfy the aspirations of all communities.

Sri Lanka

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what recent meetings he has had with representatives of the Tamil people to discuss human rights issues in Sri Lanka;
	(2)  when he will next meet representatives from the Sri Lankan Government to discuss human rights issues and the state's policy towards the Tamil people;
	(3)  what representations he has received in the last 12 months regarding human rights issues in Sri Lanka concerning the Tamil people; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  what representations he has received in the past 12 months regarding human rights issues in Sri Lanka from representatives of the Tamil people;
	(5)  how many times he has met representatives of the Sri Lankan Government to discuss human rights issues in each of the past five years.

Ben Bradshaw: We have raised human rights on a regular basis over the last five years with the Sri Lankan authorities at both ministerial and official level and will continue to do so. In March 2001, the Prime Minister and the then Foreign Secretary, discussed the situation in Sri Lanka with President Kumaratunga and then Foreign Minister Kadirgamar. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary is planning to meet the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister in July. We are also concerned about human rights abuses committed by the LTTE, and welcome their recent announcement that they will cease recruiting under the age of 18 and that they are addressing the concerns of the Muslim community. We are in close touch with UK-based Sri Lankan groups, human rights organisations and representatives from all communities in Sri Lanka, including the Tamil community.

Gibraltar

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he next intends to meet his Spanish counterpart in the next round of the Brussels process.

Peter Hain: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Mr. Colman) on 27 February 2002, Official Report, column 1306W.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proportion of income was spent on administration by the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts in the last financial year.

Richard Caborn: Figures for the last financial year, 2001–02, are not yet available. NESTA's published accounts for the financial year to 31 March 2001 show that 9.9 per cent. of income was spent on operating costs.

National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans exist for the future funding of the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts.

Richard Caborn: Plans for funding NESTA will be considered alongside other options for the future use of lottery funds.

National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment has been made of the return or investment made by the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts.

Richard Caborn: In accordance with the National Lottery Act 1998, NESTA's endowment is managed by the National Investment and Loans Office on behalf of the National Debt Commissioners. The endowment is invested in Government Bonds and Treasury Bills whose performance reflect prevailing base rates. Since establishment, the endowment has produced an annual average return of 5.25 per cent. The interest on the endowment is invested separately by NESTA in an equities and bonds portfolio managed by Schroders Investment Management. Since establishment, this fund has produced an annualised average return of 3.4 per cent.
	NESTA's performance will be considered in its Quinquennial Review in 2004–05.

Sport

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what action she is taking to encourage people to participate in sport; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: School sport is a priority for the Government and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is working closely with the Department for Education and Skills to improve the quality of and access to PE and sport in schools and links to clubs. Sport England's Active Sports programme involves 8 to 16-year-olds across the country in sport through a national network of 45 sports partnerships, while Sport Action Zones encourage participation by all age groups in some of the most deprived areas of the country. Sport England has now awarded over £1.5 billion of Lottery funding, the majority of which has been used to provide facilities for local community sport.

Sports

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time sports coaching staff (i) her Department and (ii) its agencies have funded in each of the last seven years broken down by sport; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: My Department does not fund coaching staff directly. The majority of public funding for sport is channelled through UK Sport and Sport England. Comprehensive information on the number of coaches funded from Sports Council grants is not held centrally. The following tables are drawn from records kept by UK Sport and Sport England.
	
		Coaches funded by UK Sport
		
			 Sport 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 
		
		
			 Athletics — — — 2(3) 2(3) 
			 Badminton — — 1(2) 1(2) 1(2) 
			 Curling — — — — 1(3) 
			 Equestrian — 2(2) 3(2) 5(2) 7(2) 
			 Fencing — — — 3(3) 3(3) 
			 Gymnastics — — — — 10(2) 
			 Ice skating 2(2) 2(2) 2(2) 2(2) 3(2) 
			 Judo 3(2) 4(2) 4(2) 4(2) 4(2) 
			 Modern pentathlon — — 4(2) 4(2) 5(2) 
			 Orienteering 1(2) 2(2) 2(2) 2(2) 2(2) 
			 Rowing — — — 11(2) 11(2) 
			 Sailing — — — — 5(2) 
			 Trampolining — — — — 1(2) 
			 Triathlon — — — — 4(2) 
			 Waterskiing 1(2) 2(2) 2(2) 2(2) 2(2) 
			 Wheelchair basketball 1(2) 1(2) 1(2) 1(2) 1(2) 
		
	
	(2) Full time
	(3) Part time
	
		Coaches funded by Sport England
		
			 Sport Number 
		
		
			 Athletics 38 
			 Basketball 168 
			 Cricket 167 
			 Football (girls) 282 
			 Netball 228 
			 Hockey 148 
			 Rugby Union 191 
			 Swimming 67 
			 Tennis 80

Sport and Physical Education

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations she has received from parents in Bristol regarding the distribution of New Opportunities Fund grant to local schools for the purpose of improving facilities for sport and physical education.

Richard Caborn: The Department has received no such correspondence.

Sport and Physical Education

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which (a) secondary schools in England and (b) local education authorities have received New Opportunities Fund payments to improve sport and physical education facilities; and what the total amount was in each case.

Richard Caborn: Local education authorities (LEAs) have received notification of their allocation under the scheme and bids are being developed. The deadline for LEAs to submit their stage 1 applications is the 22 April. Funding allocations are made up of a baseline allocation (based on the size of the school population in the LEA) and levels of deprivation in the area.
	The allocation figures for each LEA area are given in the following table.
	
		
			   £ 
		
		
			 Total England allocations 495,163,000 
		
	
	Note:
	Isles of Scilly have been allocated a de minimus allocation of £25,000; this is not based on the school population size.
	
		
			 LEA area Allocation (£) 
		
		
			 Eastern  
			 Bedfordshire 2,571,000 
			 Cambridgeshire 2,879,000 
			 Essex 9,068,000 
			 Hertfordshire 5,684,000 
			 Luton 2,008,000 
			 Norfolk 6,358,000 
			 Peterborough 1,855,000 
			 Southend-on-Sea 1,303,000 
			 Suffolk 4,701,000 
			 Thurrock 1,619,000 
			 Eastern England total 38,046,000 
			   
			 East Midlands  
			 Derby 2,712,000 
			 Derbyshire 6,097,000 
			 Leicester 4,996,000 
			 Leicestershire 3,355,000 
			 Lincolnshire 4,987,000 
			 Northamptonshire 5,034,000 
			 Nottingham 5,080,000 
			 Nottinghamshire 7,358,000 
			 Rutland 203,000 
			 East Midlands totals 39,822,000 
			   
			 Inner London  
			 Camden 2,460,000 
			 City of London 53,000 
			 Hackney 4,259,000 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 1,560,000 
			 Haringey 3,775,000 
			 Islington 3,796,000 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 1,338,000 
			 Lambeth 4,362,000 
			 Lewisham 3,817,000 
			 Newham 5,425,000 
			 Southwark 4,286,000 
			 Tower Hamlets 4,204,000 
			 Wandsworth 1,448,000 
			 Westminster 1,758,000 
			 Inner London totals 42,541,000 
			   
			 Outer London  
			 Barking and Dagenham 3,082,000 
			 Barnet 1,776,000 
			 Bexley 1,874,000 
			 Brent 2,965,000 
			 Bromley 1,906,000 
			 Croydon 2,376,000 
			 Ealing 2,978,000 
			 Enfield 2,995,000 
			 Greenwich 3,886,000 
			 Harrow 1,029,000 
			 Havering 1,684,000 
			 Hillingdon 1,403,000 
			 Hounslow 1,573,000 
			 Kingston upon Thames 678,000 
			 Merton 903,000 
			 Redbridge 2,131,000 
			 Richmond upon Thames 849,000 
			 Sutton 1,176,000 
			 Waltham Forest 3,481,000 
			 Outer London total 38,745,000 
			 London totals 81,286,000 
			   
			 North East  
			 Darlington 1,075,000 
			 Durham 7,335,000 
			 Gateshead 3,057,000 
			 Hartlepool 1,510,000 
			 Middlesbrough 2,264,000 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 4,338,000 
			 North Tyneside 2,364,000 
			 Northumberland 2,972,000 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 2,208,000 
			 South Tyneside 3,031,000 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 2,407,000 
			 Sunderland 5,377,000 
			 North East total 37,938,000 
			   
			 North West  
			 Blackburn with Darwen 2,562,000 
			 Blackpool 2,362,000 
			 Bolton 3,475,000 
			 Bury 1,704,000 
			 Cheshire 4,816,000 
			 Cumbria 4,607,000 
			 Halton 2,337,000 
			 Knowsley 3,194,000 
			 Lancashire 11,987,000 
			 Liverpool 9,217,000 
			 Manchester 8,823,000 
			 Oldham 3,362,000 
			 Rochdale 2,873,000 
			 Salford 3,922,000 
			 Sefton 3,331,000 
			 St. Helens 3,092,000 
			 Stockport 2,150,000 
			 Tameside 3,363,000 
			 Trafford 1,634,000 
			 Warrington 1,807,000 
			 Wigan 4,310,000 
			 Wirral 4,448,000 
			 North West total 89,376,000 
			   
			 South East  
			 Bracknell Forest 530,000 
			 Brighton and Hove 2,246,000 
			 Buckinghamshire 2,599,000 
			 East Sussex 3,589,000 
			 Hampshire 6,634,000 
			 Isle of Wight 1,371,000 
			 Kent 10,535,000 
			 Medway 2,165,000 
			 Milton Keynes 1,455,000 
			 Oxfordshire 3,329,000 
			 Portsmouth 1,450,000 
			 Reading 920,000 
			 Slough 1,057,000 
			 Southampton 2,310,000 
			 Surrey 5,297,000 
			 West Berkshire 811,000 
			 West Sussex 3,925,000 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 721,000 
			 Wokingham 812,000 
			 South East total 51,756,000 
			   
			 South West  
			 Bath and North East Somerset 965,000 
			 Bournemouth 1,283,000 
			 Bristol, City of 4,458,000 
			 Cornwall 4,518,000 
			 Devon 3,953,000 
			 Dorset 2,082,000 
			 Gloucestershire 3,663,000 
			 Isles of Scilly 25,000 
			 North Somerset 1,170,000 
			 Plymouth 3,154,000 
			 Poole 630,000 
			 Somerset 3,062,000 
			 South Gloucestershire 1,261,000 
			 Swindon 1,363,000 
			 Torbay 1,832,000 
			 Wiltshire 2,163,000 
			 South West total 35,582,000 
			   
			 West Midlands  
			 Birmingham 16,919,000 
			 Coventry 4,529,000 
			 Dudley 3,244,000 
			 Herefordshire 1,084,000 
			 Sandwell 5,526,000 
			 Shropshire 1,514,000 
			 Solihull 1,945,000 
			 Staffordshire 5,839,000 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 4,547,000 
			 Telford and Wrekin 1,747,000 
			 Walsall 3,959,000 
			 Warwickshire 3,358,000 
			 Wolverhampton 3,963,000 
			 Worcestershire 3,100,000 
			 West Midlands total 61,274,000 
			   
			 Yorkshire and Humberside  
			 Barnsley 3,993,000 
			 Bradford 8,035,000 
			 Calderdale 2,003,000 
			 Doncaster 4,746,000 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 2,196,000 
			 Kingston Upon Hull, City of 4,212,000 
			 Kirklees 4,821,000 
			 Leeds 7,712,000 
			 North East Lincolnshire 1,965,000 
			 North Lincolnshire 1,319,000 
			 North Yorkshire 3,421,000 
			 Rotherham 3,832,000 
			 Sheffield 6,010,000 
			 Wakefield 5,000,000 
			 York 818,000 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside total 60,083,000

Digital Television

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assistance will be provided to those who are unable to take up digital television in Suffolk on the grounds of (a) affordability, (b) access and (c) reception.

Kim Howells: The Digital Television Action Plan, posted on www.digitaltelevision.gov.uk and agreed by stakeholders, sets out a framework of actions to be taken by Government and industry, in partnership, to enable the take-up of digital television and achieve the tests of accessibility, availability and affordability announced in September 1999. The Government are committed to ensuring that terrestrial analogue broadcasting signals are maintained until those tests are achieved.

Digital Television

Linda Gilroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps she is taking to maintain diversity in the ownership and provision of digital television services.

Kim Howells: holding answer 15 April 2002
	The Independent Television Commission is responsible for licensing commercial digital television services in the UK. One specific criterion to which the commission must have regard when awarding the multiplex licence is the capacity of the digital programme services proposed to appeal to a variety of tastes and interests. The Government's consultation paper on media ownership proposed that specific limits should not be placed on the ownership of digital services. Competition law should ensure that there is effective competition between digital platforms and the Government will continue to act to ensure open access to gateways on these markets.

Television Licence Payments

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions she has had with the Director General of the BBC on the guidelines for enforcement by the Television Licensing Authority of television licence payments.

Kim Howells: I have had no such discussions. The BBC has statutory responsibility for the administration and enforcement of the television licensing system. As Licensing Authority, it is for the Corporation to set enforcement guidelines for its agent TV Licensing.

National Lottery

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she had with Camelot on the new National Lottery logo; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: The National Lottery logo is owned by the National Lottery Commission. There is no new logo, although Camelot have been discussing with the commission minor modifications to the current design. Camelot have recently introduced a new corporate logo; that is wholly a matter for them. The Department has not been involved in either matter.

National Lottery

Shaun Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to her answer of 28 February 2002, Official Report, column 1539W, on National Lottery funding for football and rugby stadiums, if she will break down the 2001 National Lottery expenditure on Rugby League stadiums by (a) type of work undertaken and (b) venue.

Richard Caborn: holding answer 15 April 2002
	Since my answer of 28 February to my hon. Friend the Member for St. Helens South, Official Report, column 1539W, Sport England has informed me that the National Lottery funding for Rugby League in 2001 was £512,142. The breakdown requested is as follows:
	Leeds Rugby Ltd. (Leeds Cricket Football and Athletic Co) at Headingley—lottery award of £53,617.
	Safety/security control box that serves the rugby and cricket grounds.
	Batley Bulldogs RLFC at the Heritage Road ground—lottery award of £200,000.
	Retaining walls, bases and foundations; concrete terracing and apron; structural frame and front handrail; roof and wall cladding; seating for 2,410; and disabled toilet block.
	Hull Kingston Rovers FC at the Craven Park ground—lottery award of £58,525.
	Turnstile replacement; turnstile monitoring system; additional safety rails; enhancement to perimeter fencing; undercroft conversion; public address system upgrade; safety signage; control room shutters; and other small works.
	Leigh Centurions (Leigh at Hilton Park Ltd.) at the Hilton Park Ground—lottery award of £200,000.
	Public toilets to the south stand and under the north stand; replacement of wooden seats with plastic moulded seats, public toilet refurbishment throughout the stadium; provision of turnstiles; upgraded public address system and closed circuit television system; provision of perimeter lighting and safety barriers; upgrade to the car park surface; reconstruction of a boundary wall; overlay concrete terracing in the east stand; and the provision of directional signage.

Coin Machines

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the value of transitions through coin-in coin-out machines in unlicensed premises.

Richard Caborn: We have made no such assessment.

Better Quality Services Initiative

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which of the services of her Department have not been reviewed under the Better Quality Services Initiative; and when they will be reviewed.

Kim Howells: So far reviews of 8 per cent. of departmental services have been completed. A recent project carried out jointly with the Treasury and the Centre for Management and Policy Studies will lead to the completion of reviews of core support functions by 2003. IT technical support in the Department will be reviewed by 2004. The Department is on course to meet its service delivery agreement target of conducting Better Quality Services reviews of 50 per cent. of its activities by the end of 2004. Other services do not form part of the programme under the current service delivery agreement and a programme of reviews post 2004–05 has yet to be drawn up.

Correspondence

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to her answer of 25 March 2002, regarding replies to parliamentary and public correspondence, what percentage of letters (a) from hon. Members and (b) from members of the public were answered in 2001–02 within 18 working days.

Richard Caborn: Provisional figures for the period 1 April 2001 to 31 March 2002 indicate that 90 per cent. of letters from hon. Members and 93 per cent. of letters from members of the public were answered within 18 working days. Final figures will not be available until the beginning of May.

Part-Time Employees

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many and what proportion of the staff of her Department are part-time employees.

Kim Howells: holding answer 10 April 2002
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 11 April 2002 by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office, Official Report, column 553W.

Special Advisers

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many special advisers there were in her Department; and what their salaries were in each of the last five years.

Kim Howells: holding answer 10 April 2002
	The Department has one special adviser in post at 12 April 2002. On salaries, I refer the hon. Member for West Chelmsford to the answer given to him by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 10 April 2002, Official Report, column 11W.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Prisoners (Children)

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the placing of children of imprisoned fathers and mothers into care with special reference to the length of time they spend in care.

Jacqui Smith: I have been asked to reply.
	It is not possible to identify this information from the data collected.

Job Sharing

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the extent of job sharing in his Department.

Angela Eagle: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) on 10 April 2002, Official Report, column 336W.

Age Discrimination

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the policy of his Department is towards age discrimination.

Angela Eagle: The Home Office has made a commitment to provide staff of all ages and backgrounds with opportunities to maximise their skills and achieve their potential. This is incorporated into our employment policy on discrimination and is set out in our new equal opportunities statement. Continuing work to promote a diverse work force will include monitoring of recruitment, selection and appraisal statistics to ensure that age discrimination is not taking place.
	The Department has recently completed a comprehensive review of its age retirement policy, resulting in a change in age retirement policy throughout the Home Office (including agencies), except for the prison service which is carrying out its own separate review. The new policy, which will come into force on 1 April 2002, will allow staff in all grades below the senior civil service to retire at any point between the ages of 60 and 65.
	The Home Office (including agencies but excluding the prison service) has also changed its recruitment policy as of 1 April 2002, to allow the recruitment of staff up to the age of 64 subject to their meeting normal standards of health. Provided that there is an expectation of a reasonable period of employment and a return on recruitment and training, the primary criterion for selection will be the ability of a candidate to carry out the duties of the vacant post. If the most suitable candidate happens to be over sixty years old, this should not prevent a candidate being offered the post.
	In making these various changes, the Home Office is implementing the recommendations of the Performance and Innovation Unit (PIU) report "Winning the Generation Game".

Drugs

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his plans to tackle drug taking and drug-related crime in (a) Wales and (b) the north-west.

Bob Ainsworth: My right hon. friend the Home Secretary has an overarching role in monitoring progress against the United Kingdom drugs strategy, taking account of differences in approach where responsibility is devolved. The National Assembly for Wales has devolved responsibility for setting the strategic direction in Wales and monitoring its progress.
	Criminal justice policy, however, is not devolved and I am pleased to report that arrest referral schemes and drug testing and treatment orders—both of which aim to help break the link between drug misuse and crime by helping offenders access treatment services—are now available throughout Wales.
	Also, to help the police and local communities in England and Wales tackle neighbourhood drug problems and the crime associated with them, the Government have allocated "Communities Against Drugs" funding worth over £220 million over three years. Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships will use this money to finance locally determined actions, including in Wales.
	In the north-west, there are 22 drug action teams implementing a wide range of measures to address problems of drug misuse at a local level.
	These include:
	The drawing up of young people's substance misuse plans to deliver better and integrated services for young people;
	Arrest referral schemes in all five police forces;
	The roll-out of drug testing and treatment orders across all five probation service areas;
	The development of treatment plans, in conjunction with Drugs Prevention Advisory Service and the National Treatment Agency, to reduce the time in accessing treatment and expand the range of support provision within each drug action team area.

Police Officers

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) police officers and (b) special constables there were in (i) Wales and (ii) Lancashire in each year since 1997.

John Denham: The information requested is set out in the table.
	
		
			   Wales Lancashire constabulary  
			 Year(4) Police Special Constable Police Special Constable 
		
		
			 1997 6,952 1,142 3,247 483 
			 1998 6,617 1,097 3,257 489 
			 1999 6,646 1,088 3,245 449 
			 2000 6,632 835 3,179 382 
			 2001 6,927 789 3,255 360 
			 2001 7,134 775 3,288 325 
			 2002(5) 7,116 n/a 3,316 n/a 
		
	
	(4) As at 31 March
	(5) Figures are those for 31 January 2002

UK Security

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what reviews of UK security he is undertaking; and when he expects to report on them to Parliament.

David Blunkett: The Government keep all aspects of the security of the United Kingdom under continuous review. My hon. Friend will appreciate that it would not be appropriate to make the details of these matters public. However, the provisions of the Terrorism Act 2000 and the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 are both subject to independent reviews and the reports arising from these reviews will be laid before Parliament.

Irish Terrorism

Quentin Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many incidents connected with Irish terrorism, excluding murder, have taken place in Great Britain between 1969 and 10 April 1998 for which nobody has been convicted; and if he will list them;
	(2)  how many murders connected with Irish terrorism have taken place in Great Britain between 1969 and 10 April 1998 for which nobody has been convicted; and if he will list them.

David Blunkett: holding answer 20 March 2002
	The answer to this question can be provided only at a disproportionate cost. However, from March 1973 to 31 December 2001, there were 371 devices in London, and 17 shootings. In the rest of Great Britain there were 583 devices and 34 shootings. A total of 164 arrests were made in London and 261 in the rest of Great Britain during the same period. I understand that Deputy Assistant Commissioner (DAC) (Alan Fry) of the Metropolitan police would be happy to meet with you to discuss these matters if you wish.

Extradition

Quentin Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list those people subject to extradition proceedings for offences committed in Great Britain in connection with Irish terrorism before 10 April 1998; and for what offences extradition is being sought.

David Blunkett: holding answer 20 March 2002
	It is not our policy or practice to list the names of those who are the subject of extradition proceedings. I understand from the Attorney-General that the United Kingdom has sought the return of three fugitives under the backing of warrants arrangements in place as between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Those cases involve charges of conspiracy to murder; conspiracy to cause explosions; escape from lawful custody, and unlawful wounding.

Criminal Cases Review Commission

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the processes are of (a) recruitment, (b) training and (c) assessment of the welfare of the Criminal Cases Review Commission's expert staff.

Keith Bradley: At 31 March 2001, 47 Case Review Managers (CRMs) were in post; 50 CRMs are expected to be in post at 31 March 2002. During 2001–02, eight CRMs will have joined the Commission, together with one recruited from within, and six will have left; a net increase of three.
	Salary scales affect the Commission's ability to recruit, motivate and retain CRMs, and other staff of appropriate standards, against growing outside competition. Discussions have been held within the Commission and with the Home Office concerning the current scales.
	One of the Commission's two Legal Advisers left at the end of September 2001, and recruitment of a successor is under way.
	Process Improvement Project 3 is concerned with the development of an integrated training programme for all staff. Particular developments include training on induction and mentoring, and for the roles of Assigned Commission Member and of Reviewer in the Commission's Personal Development Review programme.
	The Commission will continue to ensure that its diversity policies are in line with best practice, and ensure that diversity issues are included in its integrated training programme. It is conducting a staff attitude survey the results of which will be available early in 2002–03.

Victim's Charter

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who the special representative of road traffic victims is on the main Victim's Charter Implementation Group.

Keith Bradley: The Victim's Charter Review and Implementation Group does not include a special representative of road traffic victims. However, RoadPeace, Brake and the Campaign Against Drinking and Driving are each represented on the Road Deaths and Injuries Working Group, a subsidiary group considering the inclusion of road traffic victims within the scope of the Victim's Charter.
	The Victim's Charter Review and Implementation Group receive periodic updates on the progress made by the Working Group and fully recognise that the specialist knowledge and experience of the voluntary organisations should strongly influence any emerging recommendations on how best to meet road traffic victims' needs. This is achieved through the subsidiary group.
	More generally, the Home Department is setting up a separate and permanent Victims' Advisory Panel in order to advise on all current and future developments for victims. The terms of reference and membership of the panel are currently being actively considered, and an announcement will be made later this year.

Life Prisoners

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases regarding life prisoners who maintain their innocence referred to the Court of Appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission have been rejected; and if he will make a statement.

Keith Bradley: The specific information requested is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. It is possible to provide figures relating to those with convictions for murder where it might be assumed that a life sentence was involved. The latest available figures show that there have been 59 such referrals since the establishment of the commission. Of these, 31 are awaiting an appeal hearing. Of the 28 appeals against a murder conviction that have been heard, the conviction was quashed in 19 cases, and judgment reserved in one case. Of the eight such convictions that were upheld by the Court of Appeal, one went on to the House of Lords where it was quashed.
	Legislation requires the Court of Appeal to allow an appeal against conviction if they think the conviction is unsafe and to dismiss such an appeal in any other case. In each case the Court of Appeal's written judgment sets out the reasons for their decision on the safety of the conviction.
	Almost all of those applying to the Criminal Cases Review Commission to have their convictions reviewed do so because they are maintaining their innocence.

Life Prisoners

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with members of the Criminal Cases Review Commission about the treatment of life prisoners who maintain their innocence; and what the outcome was of these discussions.

Keith Bradley: There have been no such discussions. Since the establishment in 1997 of the Criminal Cases Review Commission, my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has had no role in the review of alleged miscarriages of justice. The commission is an independent body and it would therefore be inappropriate for the Home Secretary to intervene in this way.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Job Advertisements

John Bercow: To ask the Solicitor-General if she will list the job advertisements placed by her Department in the last 12 months specifying where the advertisements were placed and the cost in each case.

Harriet Harman: holding answer 4 March 2002
	Staff in my own Department, the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers, are on secondment from other Government Departments and external advertising is not used.
	As for the Departments for which the Attorney General is responsible, details have been placed in the Library.

Energy Costs

John Bercow: To ask the Solicitor-General if she will make a statement on energy costs incurred by her Department in each of the last 10 years.

Harriet Harman: holding answer 14 March 2002
	Details of the figures available on energy costs incurred are as follows:
	
		
			 Year £ 
		
		
			 Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers  
			 2001–02 8,215.24 
			 2000–01 8,153.13 
			 1999–2000 5,881.02 
			 1998–99 6,787.19 
			 1997–98 5,964.01 
			 1996–97 9,035.55 
			 1995–96 9,218.11 
			 1994–95 8,362.24 
			 1993–94 10,695.19 
			   
			 Treasury Solicitor's Department  
			 2001–02 49,100.92 
			 2000–01 44,169.90 
			 1999–2000 27,529.55 
			 1998–99 47,010.24 
			 1997–98 49,394.66 
			 1996–97 58,686.60 
			 1995–96 46,588.50 
			 1994–95 56,704.83 
			 1993–94 60,827.63 
			   
			 Government Property Lawyers  
			 2001–02 14,167.71 
			 2000–01 8,961.50 
			 1999–2000 15,400.33 
			 1998–99 16,191.88 
			 1997–98 16,631.20 
			 1996–97 18,010.56 
			 1995–96 18,965.60 
			 1994–95 19,679.48 
			 1993–94 19,361.91 
		
	
	The Government Property Lawyers ceased business in September 1999. Since then the building they occupied has been let and fuel costs are recovered from the tenants.
	
		
			 Year £ 
		
		
			 Crown Prosecution Service  
			 2001–02 949,191 
			 2000–01 867,796 
			 1999–2000 842,962 
			 1998–99 842,137 
			 1997–98 874,934 
			 1996–97 1,117,690 
			 1995–96 875,393 
			 1994–95 913,832 
			 1993–94 945,084 
			 1992–93 802,949 
			 1991–92 813,625 
			   
			 Serious Fraud Office  
			 2000–01 64,514 
			 1999–2000 69,932 
			 1998–99 64,926 
			 1997–98 71,049 
			 1996–97 93,160 
			 1995–96 98,814

Special Advisers

John Bercow: To ask the Solicitor-General if she will list the number and expected cost to her Department of special advisers in (a) 2001–02 and (b) 2002–03.

Harriet Harman: holding answer 18 March 2002
	None of the Departments for which the Attorney- General is responsible employ special advisers.

Stolen Equipment

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Solicitor-General, pursuant to the answer of 23 January 2002, Official Report, column 878W, on stolen equipment, whether the computer equipment stolen from her Department was (a) new and unused and (b) used; and what was the nature of the data stored on such items in each case.

Harriet Harman: holding answer 20 March 2002
	I am not aware of any equipment having been stolen from my Department, the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers, since 1 May 1997.
	In the Departments for which the Attorney-General is responsible, details are as follows:
	Crown Prosecution Service
	Since May 1997, six computers and one printer have been stolen from the Crown Prosecution Service. Details of the equipment stolen are as follows:
	1998–99
	One computer—new and unused.
	One laptop computer—used—contained administrative data.
	1999–2000
	Two computers—used.
	(i) Court link PC—no data retained on PC.
	(ii) Typist PC—case related data retained on PC.
	One laptop computer—used—contained management data.
	One computer—used court link PC—no data retained on PC.
	Treasury Solicitor's Department
	Computer memory chips stolen from the Treasury Solicitor's Department in 1997 were new and unused.
	A laptop computer stolen in 2001 had been used, but contained no data other than the standard office word processing package.
	Serious Fraud Office
	A password protected computer stolen from Counsel's chambers was in used condition.
	The data contained on the computer were case related, consisting of miscellaneous lists, statements and documents. The loss was considered by the Case Controller and its impact was assessed as insignificant.

PFI/PPPs

John Bercow: To ask the Solicitor-General if she will list the (a) private finance initiative and (b) public private partnership projects which have been delayed.

Harriet Harman: holding answer 25 March 2002
	My own Department, the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers, the Treasury Solicitor's Department and the Serious Fraud Office have not entered into any public-private partnerships or private finance initiatives.
	No private finance initiatives or public-private partnership projects entered into by the Crown Prosecution Service have been delayed. The CPS's private finance initiative IT project, 'Compass', has been managed well and is on track. A new PFI contract was agreed with Logica plc in December 2001.

PFI/PPPs

John Bercow: To ask the Solicitor-General what the difference was between the price offered in reaching referred bidder stage and the final contract price for the five largest PFI contracts let by her Department in each of the last four years; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: holding answer 25 March 2002
	My own Department, the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers, the Treasury Solicitor's Department and the Serious Fraud Office have not entered into any public-private partnerships in each of the last four years.
	The Compass project, which is a private finance initiative, is the only relevant contract let by the Crown Prosecution Service in the last four years. The price for the Compass project at preferred bidder stage and the final contract price were identical. There is an allowance of 1 per cent. built into the contract price to take into account any findings arising from a further period of due diligence. The actual contract price is subject to commercial confidentiality.

Treasury Solicitor's Department

John Bercow: To ask the Solicitor-General what the percentage level of income recovery was in 2001–02 from clients of the Treasury Solicitor's Department within 30 days of their receipt of a validated invoice.

Harriet Harman: holding answer 9 April 2002
	Information about progress on PSA targets will be published in the Department's 2002 Departmental Report.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Press and Public Relations

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the annual budget for communications activities, including press, public relations, marketing and internal communications, was for her Department for each financial year from 1997–98 to 2001–02.

Ivan Lewis: The figures for staff, administration and related costs are as follows:
	
		
			   £000 
		
		
			 1997–98 (6)2,540 
			 1998–99 (6)2,891 
			 1999–2000 3,386 
			 2000–01 3,971 
			 2001–02 3,945 
		
	
	(6) Prior to 1999–2000 the internal communication function was subsumed within other parts of the Department, and costs cannot be identified separately.
	Expenditure from the Department's central advertising and publicity budget is as follows.
	
		
			   £000 
		
		
			 1997–98 10,879 
			 1998–99 13,426 
			 1999–2000 9,902 
			 2000–01 14,595 
			 2001–02 11,688 
		
	
	In addition to expenditure from this central budget, expenditure from budgets allocated to individual programmes will also include spend on publicity related activity. It is not possible, except at disproportionate cost, to separately identify all such publicity related expenditure. It is possible to identify expenditure on advertising and on public relations drawn from all budgets and this is as follows:
	
		£000 
		
			  Advertising Public Relations 
		
		
			 1997–98 9,992 0 
			 1998–99 15,673 549 
			 1999–2000 11,900 88 
			 2000–01 29,066 794 
			 2001–02 17,665 655

Special Advisers

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many special advisers were employed by her (a) between 1 May and 31 December 1997 and (b) in each year from 1998 to 2001 inclusive; and what the total amount spent on special advisers by the Department was for each of those years.

Estelle Morris: From May 1997 to June 2001, up to three full-time equivalent special advisers have been in post at any one time; from September 2001 this dropped to two.
	In relation to special adviser costs I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 10 April 2002, Official Report, column 11W.

Special Advisers

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the number and expected cost to her Department of special advisers in (a) 2001–02 and (b) 2002–03.

Estelle Morris: My Department has two special advisers in post as at 13 March 2002.
	In relation to special adviser costs I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 10 April 2002, Official Report, column 11W.

Departmental Contracts

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the 30 largest contracts awarded by her Department from (a) May 1997 to April 1998, (b) May 1998 to April 1999, (c) May 1999 to April 2000, (d) May 2000 to April 2001 and (e) May 2001 to the latest date for which figures are available, stating in each case the values of the contracts and the companies with which the contracts were placed.

Ivan Lewis: This information could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.

Creche Facilities

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what creche facilities are provided by her Department; and at what cost.

Ivan Lewis: The Department for Education and Skills is committed to promoting equality of opportunity for its staff and supports a range of child care provision, which helps staff balance family and working life.
	100 full-time work place nursery places are available to staff working in Sheffield and Runcorn; 112 full-time playscheme places, operating during the school holidays for children in full-time education aged up to 12, are available to staff working on all DfES sites. In 2001–02 these arrangements were provided at a cost of £230,000.

IT Contracts

Valerie Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many contracts her Department has with ICT suppliers; how many ICT suppliers have contracts with her Department, and what the names of these ICT suppliers are.

Ivan Lewis: (a) The Department has 60 contracts with ICT suppliers;
	(b) 47 ICT suppliers have contracts with the Department;
	(c) The names of the Department's ICT suppliers are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  No.  Supplier Number of contracts 
		
		
			 1 4S Systems Ltd. 1 
			 2 Advanced Data Services Ltd. 1 
			 3 AXIOS Systems Ltd. 2 
			 4 Baltimore 2 
			 5 British Telecom 1 
			 6 Cap Gemini Ernst and Young 1 
			 7 COLT Ltd. 1 
			 8 Custom Communication Consultants 1 
			 9 DE TE WE 1 
			 10 Epixtech 1 
			 11 Forvus 2 
			 12 Graphical Data capture 1 
			 13 Hi Tech (Laboratories) Ltd. 1 
			 14 Information 1st 1 
			 15 Initial Electronic Security Systems Ltd. 1 
			 16 Integrated Environmental Solutions 1 
			 17 ISIS Ltd. 1 
			 18 Knightridder 1 
			 19 Leake and Spencer 1 
			 20 LOTUS (IBM) 1 
			 21 Mattel Interactive 1 
			 22 MFT Computer Systems 1 
			 23 Microsystems Software 1 
			 24 MIKROFAX 1 
			 25 Network Associates 1 
			 26 Network Designers 1 
			 27 Network Unlimited Network Products Ltd. 1 
			 28 NICO MAK Computing 1 
			 29 NISS 1 
			 30 Northern Realisations Ltd. 1 
			 31 Novell 1 
			 32 Dell(7) 1 
			 33 Vodafone(8) 1 
			 34 Global Crossing(9) 1 
			 35 Oracle 4 
			 36 Peoplesoft 1 
			 37 Progressions Ltd. 1 
			 38 QAS Systems Ltd. 1 
			 39 Quality Forum 1 
			 40 Raxco Software 1 
			 41 Research Group 1 
			 42 Sanderson MSL Ltd. 1 
			 43 SPSS 8 
			 44 Surf Control plc 1 
			 45 Trustmarque Solutions 1 
			 46 Videoconferencing Worldwide 1 
			 47 Xansa plc 1 
			  Total number of contracts 60 
		
	
	(7) via Office of Government Commerce GCAT 2 Catalogue
	(8) via Office of Government Commerce GTM Catalogue
	(9) via Office of Government Commerce MTS telecoms service

Ministerial Travel

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many times Ministers in her Department have travelled abroad at taxpayers' expense since March 2001; what countries they visited; and what the total cost of each visit was.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 10 April 2002
	I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister on 11 April 2002, Official Report, column 552W.

Statutory Instruments

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to her answer of 25 February 2002, Official Report, columns 722–3W, on statutory instruments, what assessment she has made of the cost effectiveness of each of the statutory instruments listed in the document placed in the Library.

Ivan Lewis: Costs associated with regulatory proposals are considered at the policy development stage. A Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) is completed for regulatory proposals unless there are no or negligible costs, and sets out the impact, in terms of costs, benefits and risks of the proposed regulation which could affect businesses, charities or the voluntary sector. RIAs are available from the Libraries of the House.

Departmental Underspend

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to her answer of 3 December 2001, Official Report, column 81W, regarding end year flexibility, if the remaining sum was spent in 2001–02.

Estelle Morris: £530 million of the underspend remained available on 3 December 2001. £130 million of this amount has been drawn down for use in 2001–02 and the remaining amount will be carried forward for use in 2002–03 or later years.

NVQ Level II Funding

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to her answer of the 26 March 2002, Official Report, column 902W, regarding NVQ level II funding, what steps her Department has taken with the Department of Health to ensure that all those individuals who qualify for (a) grants and (b) funds have knowledge of and access to them; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: This Department and its partners such as the Learning and Skills Council, education and training providers, local authorities and the Connexions Service take a wide range of steps to ensure that individuals have knowledge of, and access to, grants and funds to pursue education and training at all levels. Examples include: local marketing strategies developed by partners to reflect local needs and priorities; national leaflets on financial support while studying; other national and local marketing and careers material; advice and guidance from the Connexions Service and other information and guidance services; and the national learndirect telephone help-line.
	The Learning and Skills Council and other partners are working with the Department of Health, the Training Organisation for Social Care (TOPSS) and social care employers to ensure that the maximum number of care staff receive supported NVQ training.

NVQ Level II Funding

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to her answer of 26 March 2002, Official Report, column 902W, regarding NVQ level II funding, what (a) funds and (b) grants are available to individuals over the age of 24 years to obtain NVQ level II.

Stephen Timms: The Government provide 75 per cent. of the standard national course costs to the Learning and Skills Council to pass on to colleges. Additionally, students in further education can seek financial help towards the additional costs associated with study, ie transport, fees, books and equipment, and exam costs from the discretionary Access Fund, if they can demonstrate particular need. It also helps with short-term child care and, to a limited extent, emergency payments for living expenses. The Childcare Support Fund offers help to lone parents and others who are on low incomes with the cost of registered child care while studying. Career development loans are also available to individuals undertaking vocational courses, to cover the cost of fees and associated costs which are not supported from other sources. However, colleges at their discretion may remit some or all of the tuition fee for adults where there is financial hardship or they may offer access to a college hardship fund.

LORD CHANCELLOR

High Court Judges

Lady Hermon: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what measures are being taken in Northern Ireland to ensure that more women and more members of the ethnic minorities become High Court judges.

Rosie Winterton: Arising from recommendations in the Northern Ireland Criminal Justice Review, the Lord Chancellor, in December of last year, appointed Mr. John Simpson as Commissioner for Judicial Appointments for Northern Ireland. The Commissioner will oversee the development of a strategy of equal opportunity and outreach designed to broaden the pool of potential applicants for judicial office. Particular emphasis will be placed on the introduction of measures designed to encourage applications from sectors of the community that have been historically under-represented or where applications have been disproportionately low. All appointments, however, will continue to be made on merit and merit alone. The Commissioner will publish his first annual report to the Lord Chancellor early next year.

Marriage and Relationship Support

Bob Spink: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how much money was awarded under the Government's marriage and relationship support programme to (a) National Marriage Week, (b) the Family Matters Institute and (c) the Lesbian and Gay Foundation, in the two most recent annual rounds.

Rosie Winterton: Total funding under the Marriage and Relationship Support Grant Programme was £4.5 million in 2001–02 and is £5 million in 2002–03.
	National Marriage Week 2001–02 was supported through the grant of £31,500 paid to Oasis Media (the PR company employed by Futureway Trust). Oasis Media and Futureway also received advisory support and guidance from officials in the Lord Chancellor's Department. The bid for 2002–03 did not score sufficiently highly against the published grant criteria to receive funding.
	The Lesbian and Gay Foundation was supported for the first time in 2002–03 with a grant of £48,000.
	Family Matters Institute has never received funding from the Marriage and Relationship Support Grant. It applied this year, but did not score sufficiently highly against grant criteria.

Court of Protection

John Taylor: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if she will make a statement about delays at the Court of Protection; whether they derive from the recent re-location of that service; and whether its filing systems have been affected by the move.

Rosie Winterton: The Court of Protection, which is the Judicial 'arm' of the PGO, continues to deal with any work that it receives very speedily. In 2001–02, over 90 per cent. of submissions received from the PGO were processed within five working days. However, there have been recent delays in the PGO (which provides the administrative support to the court) which have impacted on the overall service delivery received by the court's clients.
	It is correct to say that the recent relocation of the court and the PGO, which is now complete, has been a contributing factor to the cause of the delays. The PGO is very conscious indeed of the need to improve its services and reduce delay and much work is being done to address this.
	All 25,000 plus case dossiers were moved from the PGO's old location to Archway and the new filing system has taken some time to bed down. A pilot of an electronic file scanning system, using bar codes, is about to start which it is hoped will considerably improve the ability to manage records more effectively. This will be a precursor to the development and implementation of the new electronic case record management system ('MERIS') which is due to be operational within the next 18 months and will ultimately reduce reliance on paper dossiers.

Press Office

Simon Burns: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what the total cost of running the Department's press office was in (a) 1996–97 and (b) the latest year for which figures are available.

Michael Wills: The Lord Chancellor's Department's communications functions were incorporated into a new group in 1998. The annual costs for arrangements before 1998 are no longer available. The total cost of press office activity for FY 2001–02 which includes indirect costs to 31 December 2001, salaries and other staff costs, and expenditure on press office services is £503,135.
	This figure does not include the costs of any work undertaken in other parts of the communications group on publications, internal communications and the staff journal, the LCD website and general administration activities.

Parental Leave Directive

John Bercow: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what estimate she has made of the (a) financial costs and (b) benefits to her Department of the Parental Leave Directive.

Rosie Winterton: Staff in the Lord Chancellor's Department and agencies have always benefited from generous flexible working and leave arrangements, and have been able to take unpaid leave and career breaks with the agreement of local managers. We have incorporated the employer's obligations under the Parental Leave Directive in our flexible working policies, and staff are able to take up their entitlement under the directive. We keep no separate record of this and therefore have not recorded costs separately.

Flexible Working

John Bercow: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many and what proportion of the staff of her Department are (a) job sharing, (b) term working and (c) engaged in another form of flexible working.

Rosie Winterton: (a) 2,291 staff currently work reduced hours, a large proportion of whom are engaged on a job-share or job-split arrangement.
	(b) While some staff may arrange to work term times only, we keep no separate central records for staff working that particular arrangement, as it would be recorded centrally as an individual working reduced hours.
	(c) There are a number of other alternative and flexible working patterns that employees are welcome to take up under the Department's work-life balance policies, such as flexi-time, home working and compressed hours. The flexibility of the pattern is decided in conjunction with local management to suit an individual's need and the needs of their work. Other than those working reduced hours (see (a) above), no central records are kept of these arrangements.

Age Discrimination

John Bercow: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what his Department's policy is towards age discrimination.

Rosie Winterton: The Department has incorporated age into its equal opportunities policies, and is reviewing its employment policies in line with the recommendations in the Performance and Innovation Unit Report, "Winning the Generation Game".

Parliamentary Questions

John Bercow: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will take steps to improve the response time to parliamentary questions.

Michael Wills: In its response to the Public Administration Select Committee's Second Report of Session 2000–2001 on Ministerial Accountability and Parliamentary Questions, the Government made clear its commitment to providing prompt and accurate answers to Parliamentary Questions. This continues to be the Government's position.

TRANSPORT, LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND THE REGIONS

London Development Agency

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans the Government have for the role of the London Development Agency in promoting a model of economic growth that would discourage further in-migration from (a) the regions of the UK and (b) overseas into London.

Alan Johnson: I have been asked to reply.
	None. The London Development Agency is a functional body of the Greater London authority, reporting to the Mayor of London. It is for the Mayor to approve and publish the London Development Agency's strategy, which sets out the agency's objectives and regional priorities.

TREASURY

Forms P85 and P85S

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many completed versions of forms (a) P85 and (b) P85S the Inland Revenue has received in each of the last five fiscal years; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: I regret the production of such statistics in a form which would enable me to say how many completed versions of forms (a) P85 and (b) P85S the Inland Revenue has received in each of the last five fiscal years would involve disproportionate cost.

Special Advisers

Andrew Turner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many special advisers were employed by the Treasury (a) between 1 May and 31 December 1997 and (b) in each year from 1998 to 2001 inclusive; and what the total amount spent on special advisers by the Department was in each of those years.

Ruth Kelly: I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave to the hon. Member for Buckingham (Mr. Bercow) on 11 February 2002, Official Report, column 115W and 16 April 2002, Official Report, column 857W, and the answer given to the hon. Member for Ribble Valley (Mr. Evans) on 11 May 2001, a copy of which is available in the Library.

Special Advisers

Simon Burns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many special advisers there were in his Department; and what their salaries were in each of the last five years.

Ruth Kelly: holding answer 10 April 2002
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by the Prime Minister on 10 April 2002, Official Report, column 11W. I also refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Buckingham (Mr. Bercow) on 16 April 2002, Official Report, column 857W.

Children's Tax Credit

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families have applied for the children's tax credit; and how many of these applications have (a) been successful and (b) failed.

Dawn Primarolo: The Inland Revenue have invited claims for the children's tax credit from PAYE taxpayers. They have received about 3.7 million forms to date and it is estimated that 3.3 million taxpayers have CTC in their tax codes. The latest survey data suggest that around 3.7 million families might be expected to claim through PAYE and that an additional 900,000 taxpayers will be expected to claim the CTC later, via self-assessment.

Children's Tax Credit

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families are in receipt of the children's tax credit, broken down into (a) those who receive the full credit, (b) those who receive a partial credit because they have a comparatively small tax liability and (c) those who receive a partial credit because they earn too much to receive the full credit.

Dawn Primarolo: It is estimated that about 3.3 million taxpayers have the children's tax credit (CTC) in their 2001–02 tax codes. On (c) about 0.1 million have a reduced value in the code adjustment because it is estimated that they are on the CTC taper. On (b), it is not known for how many families the CTC eliminates the tax deducted from their earnings; this depends on their total earnings in the year.

Children's Tax Credit

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people are expected to apply retrospectively for the children's tax credit for 2001–02 because they are self-employed.

Dawn Primarolo: It is estimated that there are about 0.8 million families with income from self-employment who will benefit from the children's tax credit.

Landfill

Ian Stewart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will consider changes to the landfill tax to support the achievement of the Government's waste policy.

Paul Boateng: The landfill tax contributes to the achievement of the Government's waste targets by making waste producers take account of the environmental costs they impose when they discard waste to landfill.

Efficiency Savings

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the target has been in each of the last five years for efficiency savings as a percentage of total running costs for each of the non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible; and if the target was met.

Ruth Kelly: The Chancellor of the Exchequer is not responsible for any non-departmental public bodies that set their own efficiency savings targets.

Office for National Statistics

John Whittingdale: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many different questionnaires were sent out to (a) UK companies, (b) manufacturing companies and (c) distribution and services companies by the Office for National Statistics in 2001.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. John Whittingdale, dated 17 April 2002
	As National Statistician I am responding to your recent question concerning statistical questionnaires sent to businesses by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). (48926)
	Of the 1.57m forms issued to UK companies in 2001, 29% went to the manufacturing sector and 66% to the distribution and services sector.
	Sector definitions have been based on the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC)(92)).

Taxation

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the estimated annual loss to the Exchequer arising from (a) tax avoidance and (b) tax evasion in offshore jurisdictions.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 15 April 2002
	I regret that this information is not available.

Parliamentary Questions

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost was to his Department of answering written parliamentary questions in 2001; and how that cost was calculated.

Paul Boateng: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer the President of the Council and Leader of the House gave him on 17 April 2002, Official Report, column 929W.

Press Conferences

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 4 March 2002, Official Report, column 10W, on departmental events, if he will list the press conferences which have taken place on departmental premises in each of the last five years; and what was the purpose of each of them.

Ruth Kelly: Information in the format required could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Offshore Investments

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the estimated total of UK assets invested in offshore jurisdictions.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 15 April 2002
	I regret that this information is not available.

Wanless Report

Howard Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he received the final Wanless report.

Andrew Smith: Derek Wanless formally submitted his final report to the Chancellor on 15 April. The report was published this morning.

Annuities

Paddy Tipping: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many responses he has received to his consultative document "Modernising Annuities"; and if he will list those who responded and place copies of the responses in the Library.

Ruth Kelly: The number received up to 12 April was 615. Responses are still arriving. The list of respondents and copies of the responses will be placed in the Library in due course.

Structural Funds

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what (a) discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues and (b) representations he has received from the National Assembly for Wales, regarding securing (i) the full amount of European Structural Funds for the National Assembly for Wales above the Welsh block grant and (ii) full public match funding for the projects over and above the Barnett formula during the period of the next Comprehensive Spending Review.

Andrew Smith: Treasury Ministers hold discussions with their ministerial colleagues on a variety of matters, and receive representations from the National Assembly for Wales on a range of issues. Funding decisions taken in this year's spending review will be announced in due course.

Westfield Shopping Centre Company

Theresa May: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations his Department has received from the Westfield shopping centre company since 1997.

Andrew Smith: HM Treasury can find no trace of any representations from Westfield shopping centre company since 1997.

Non-domicile Status

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people have been granted non-domicile status by the Inland Revenue in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the impact on jobs in the City of London of a change in the taxation arrangements of those who reside in the United Kingdom but who are domiciled overseas;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the impact on the Baltic Exchange of a change in the taxation arrangements for those who reside in the United Kingdom but who are domiciled overseas;
	(3)  if he will make a statement on taxation arrangements for those who reside in the United Kingdom but who are domiciled overseas.

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the potential effect on inward investment were the UK to cease to grant non-domicile status to UK taxpayers; and what research he has (a) commissioned and (b) reviewed in respect of this matter;
	(2)  how many UK residents enjoyed non-domicile status for tax purposes in (a) 2001, (b) 2000, (c) 1999, (d) 1998, (e) 1997 and (f) 1987;
	(3)  on how many occasions since 1992 the Inland Revenue has (a) rejected and (b) approved an application by a UK resident to be given non-domicile status;
	(4)  how many UK taxpayers have enjoyed non-domicile status for (a) more than five years, (b) more than 10 years and (c) more than 20 years; and for each category, what percentage of those enjoying non-domicile status this constitutes;
	(5)  what estimate he has made of the potential income tax revenue lost in each of the last five years as a result of the granting of non-domicile status to some UK taxpayers; and what research he has (a) commissioned and (b) reviewed in respect of this matter;
	(6)  how many UK taxpayers with non-domicile status were (a) born in the United Kingdom and (b) carry British passports; and for each category what percentage of those enjoying non-domicile status this constitutes.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answers 15 April 2002
	We announced today as part of my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Budget statement that we are reviewing the residence and domicile rules as they affect tax liabilities of individuals. I refer to Chapter 5 of the Economic and Fiscal Strategy Report 2002, paragraph 5.83.

Inland Revenue

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  if the target for the percentage of days on which all cheques of £100,000 or more are banked on the day of receipt by the Accounts Offices of the Inland Revenue was met in 2000–01;
	(2)  if the target for the number of inquiries taken up in relation to individuals, as referred to on page 13 of the Inland Revenue's report 2001, was met in 2000–01;
	(3)  what recent assessment he has made of whether the PSA target for the Inland Revenue to have identified annual savings of at least £5 million per year on estate spending by 31 March was met;
	(4)  how much assessed and self-assessed tax was overdue for over three months in 2000–01;
	(5)  what percentage of (a) assessed and (b) self- assessed tax due was collected in 2000–01;
	(6)  if the target for the percentage of Inland Revenue inquiry centre callers without appointments attended to within 15 minutes was met in 2000–01;
	(7)  if the PSA target for the Inland Revenue to further the electronic procurement programme has now been met;
	(8)  what assessment he has made of the performance of the Inland Revenue against its Public Service Agreement target to ensure the effective transfer of staff from the Benefits Agency to deal with the extra claims for tax credits arising from the introduction of the working families tax credit and the disabled person's tax credit;
	(9)  if the target for the percentage of self-assessed cases dealt with accurately by the Inland Revenue was met in 2000–01;
	(10)  if the targets for the percentages of notifications of National Insurance contributions recorded by (a) 31 December and (b) 31 March, as referred to on page 14 of the Inland Revenue's 2001 report, were met in 2000–01;
	(11)  what recent assessment he has made of whether the PSA target for the Inland Revenue to review at least 60 per cent. of its services by value by March was met;
	(12)  what the meaning is of the performance indicator Quality-% score on page 13 of the Inland Revenue's 2001 report;
	(13)  if the target for the percentage of repayment claims in Inland Revenue offices processed within 20 working days was met in 2000–01;
	(14)  what recent assessment he has made of whether the PSA target for the Inland Revenue to deliver cumulative efficiency savings of at least 10 per cent. of the 2001–02 Departmental expenditure limit by 31 March was met;
	(15)  if the target for the percentage of compliance inquiries/reviews worked to a satisfactory or better standard, referred to on page 13 of the Inland Revenue's 2001 report, was met in 2000–01;
	(16)  if the target for the percentage of non self-assessed schedule E work dealt with accurately by the Inland Revenue was met in 2000–01;
	(17)  if the target for the number of reviews taken up in relation to employers, as referred to on page 14 of the Inland Revenue's 2001 report, was met in 2000–01;
	(18)  what recent assessment he has made of whether the PSA target for the Inland Revenue to increase the availability of electronic communications between taxpayers and the Department to at least 30 per cent. of potential dealings by 31 March was met;
	(19)  what the target was for reduced sickness absence in the Inland Revenue in 2000–01; and if it was met;
	(20)  if he will make a statement on the PAYE in year weighted target for percentage employer payments as referred to on page 13 of the Inland Revenue report for 2001;
	(21)  if the target for the percentage of calls answered at Inland Revenue switchboards within 30 seconds was met in 2000–01;
	(22)  what recent assessment he has made of whether the PSA target for the Inland Revenue to reduce staff sickness absence by 2003 will be met;
	(23)  if the PSA target for the Inland Revenue to increase the proportion of key designated procurement postholders with or working towards, a graduate level procurement qualification has now been met;
	(24)  if the target for the percentage of self-assessed tax returns received by 31 January 2001 was met;
	(25)  if the target for decisions in five working days on completed applications for working families tax credit was met in 2000–01;
	(26)  if the target for the percentage of post fully dealt with within 15 working days by the Inland Revenue was met in 2000–01;
	(27)  if the PSA target for the Inland Revenue's prompt payment of undisputed invoices has been met;
	(28)  if the target for the number of inquiries taken up in relation to companies, as referred to on page 13 of the Inland Revenue's 2001 report, was met in 2000–01;
	(29)  what recent assessment he has made of whether the PSA target for the Inland Revenue to achieve a roll out of at least 50 per cent. of the call centre strategy contained in the overall agreed programmes by 31 March was met;
	(30)  if the target for the percentage of days on which 99 per cent. or more of all cheques are banked on the day of receipt by the Accounts Offices of the Inland Revenue was met in 2000–01.

Dawn Primarolo: Information on PSA performance and against targets generally is set out in the Inland Revenue Annual Reports 1999–2000 (Cm 5029) and 2000–01 (Cm 5304). Information on progress against PSA targets in 2001–02 will be published in the Revenue's forthcoming spring Departmental report. Full details of performance in 2001–02 will be contained in the Revenue annual report which will be published later this year.

Delegated Legislation

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Amusement Machine Licence Duty (Medium-Prize Machines) Order; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Insurance (Fees) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Climate Change Levy (General) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Tax Credits Scheme (Miscellaneous Amendments No. 2) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(5)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Tax Credit Schemes (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Northern Ireland) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(6)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 Regulated Activities Order; and if he will make a statement;
	(7)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Capital Gains Tax (Annual Exempt Amount) Order; and if he will make a statement;
	(8)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Climate Change Levy (Registration and Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(9)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Aircraft Operators (Accounts and Records) (Amendment) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(10)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Value Added Tax (Consideration for Fuel provided for Private Use) Order; and if he will make a statement;
	(11)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Air Passenger Duty (Designated Region of the United Kingdom) Order; and if he will make a statement;
	(12)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the National Savings Bank (Amendment) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(13)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Social Security Contributions (Amendment No. 3) (Northern Ireland) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(14)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Value Added Tax (Passenger Vehicles) Order; and if he will make a statement;
	(15)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Recognition Requirements for Investment Exchanges and Clearing Houses) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(16)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Finance Act 1989, Section 178(1) (Appointed Day) Order; and if he will make a statement;
	(17)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Inheritance Tax (Indexation) Order; and if he will make a statement;
	(18)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Income Tax (Indexation) Order; and if he will make a statement;
	(19)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Personal Equity Plan (Amendment) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(20)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Retirement Benefits Schemes (Indexation of Earnings Cap) Order; and if he will make a statement;
	(21)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Financial Markets and Insolvency (Settlement Finality) (Amendment) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(22)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Value Added Tax (Business Gifts of Small Value) Order; and if he will make a statement;
	(23)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Lottery Duty (Amendment) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(24)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Capital Allowances (Corresponding Northern Ireland Grants) Order; and if he will make a statement;
	(25)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Financial Services Act 1986 (Exemption) Order; and if he will make a statement;
	(26)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Value Added Tax (Electronic Communications) (Incentive) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(27)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Industrial and Provident Societies (Fees) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(28)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Value Added Tax (Protective Helmets) Order; and if he will make a statement;
	(29)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (Modification of Section 10(7)) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(30)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Excise Duty (Payments in Case of Error or Delay) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(31)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 (Modification of Section 10(7)) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(32)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Building Societies (General Charge and Fees) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(33)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Gaming Duty (Amendment) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(34)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Individual Savings Account (Amendment) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(35)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Social Security (Contributions) (Re-rating and National Insurance Funds) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(36)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Tax Credit Schemes (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(37)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 (Investment by Devolved Administrations) (Public-Private Partnership Business) Order; and if he will make a statement;
	(38)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Cider and Perry (Amendment) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(39)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Value Added Tax (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(40)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Industrial and Provident Societies (Credit Unions) (Fees) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(41)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Taxes (Interest Rate) (Amendment No. 1) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(42)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Buying Agency Trading Fund (Amendment) (Change of Name) Order; and if he will make a statement;
	(43)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Social Security (Contributions) (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(44)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Stamp Duty Reserve Tax (Investment Exchanges and Clearing Houses) (The London Stock Exchange) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(45)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Finance Act 2001 (Commencement No. 2 and Saving Provision) Order; and if he will make a statement;
	(46)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Financial Services Act 1986 (Electricity Industry Exemption) Order; and if he will make a statement;
	(47)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Air Passenger Duty (Amendment) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(48)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Aggregates Levy (Registration and Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(49)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Stamp Duty and Stamp Duty Reserve Tax (Definition of Unit Trust Scheme and Open-ended Investment Company) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(50)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Income Tax (Cash Equivalents of Car Fuel Benefits) Order; and if he will make a statement;
	(51)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Tax Credit Schemes (Miscellaneous Amendments No. 2) (Northern Ireland) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(52)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Credit Unions (Increase in Limits on Deposits by Persons Too Young to be Members and of Periods for the Repayment of Loans) Order; and if he will make a statement;
	(53)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Commencement No. 1) Order; and if he will make a statement;
	(54)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Collective Investment Schemes) Order; and if he will make a statement;
	(55)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Freeing of Funds) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(56)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Investment Trusts (Approval of Accounting Methods for Creditor Relationships) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(57)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Tobacco Products Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(58)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Social Security (Contributions Amendment) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(59)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the General Betting Duty Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(60)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Excise Duty Points (Duty Suspended Movements of Excise Goods) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(61)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Social Security (Contributions) (Amendment No. 3) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(62)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Value Added Tax (Increase of Registration Limits) Order; and if he will make a statement;
	(63)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Value Added Tax (Vehicles Designed or Adapted for Handicapped Persons) Order; and if he will make a statement;
	(64)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Value Added Tax (Amendment) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(65)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Statistics of Trade (Customs and Excise) (Amendment) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(66)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Value Added Tax (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(67)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Prescribed Markets and Qualifying Investments) Order; and if he will make a statement;
	(68)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Promotion of Collective Investment Schemes) (Exemptions) Order; and if he will make a statement;
	(69)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Friendly Societies (General Charge and Fees) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(70)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Taxes (Interest Rate) (Amendment No. 2) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(71)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Tax Credits (Miscellaneous Amendments No.8) (Northern Ireland) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(72)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Disclosure of Confidential Information) (Amendment) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(73)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Tax Credits (Miscellaneous Amendments No. 8) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(74)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Tax Credits (Miscellaneous Amendments No. 9) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(75)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Interim Provisions) Order; and if he will make a statement;
	(76)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Official Listing of Securities) (Amendment) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(77)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Commencement No. 6) Order; and if he will make a statement;
	(78)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Tax Credits (Miscellaneous Amendments No. 9) (Northern Ireland) Regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(79)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Controllers) (Exemption) (No. 2) Order; and if he will make a statement;
	(80)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Value Added Tax (Refund of Tax) Order; and if he will make a statement;
	(81)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Air Passenger Duty and Other Indirect Taxes (Interest Rate) (Amendment) Order; and if he will make a statement;
	(82)  what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Gibraltar) Order; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Costs associated with regulatory proposals are considered at the policy development stage. A Regulatory Impact Assessment is completed for regulatory proposals unless there are no or negligible costs, and sets out the impact, in terms of costs, benefits and risks of the proposed regulation which could affect businesses, charities or the voluntary sector. RIAs are available from the Libraries of the House and have been available on departmental websites from 1 January 2001.

Sunset Clauses

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which Bills introduced by his Department in the last five years have contained sunset clauses; and what plans he has for the future use of such clauses.

Ruth Kelly: None has contained sunset clauses applying to the Bill as a whole. Section 107 of Finance Act 2001 incorporates a sunset clause (sub-section (5)) applying to that section alone. The need for any such provision would be considered on a case-by-case basis.

WALES

Consignia

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales 
	(1)  what correspondence he has had with Consignia in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement on what was discussed;
	(2)  what meetings he has had with Consignia in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement on what was discussed at these meetings.

Paul Murphy: I have not received any correspondence or held any meetings with Consignia in the last 12 months.

Parliamentary Questions

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the cost was to his Department of answering written parliamentary questions in 2001; and how that cost was calculated.

Paul Murphy: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to you today 17 April 2002 by my right hon. Friend Robin Cook, Leader of the House.

Ministerial Duties

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many (a) site visits and (b) official openings (i) he and (ii) the Under- Secretary of State for Wales have attended in each month since July 1999.

Paul Murphy: Since July 1999 both my hon. Friends the Parliamentary Under-Secretaries and I have undertaken a wide range of visits and official engagements in Wales. These have included site visits and official openings as well as equally important visits to local authorities, police authorities, farms, tourism outlets, universities and voluntary organisations.

Ministerial Duties

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what meetings (a) he and (b) the Under-Secretary of State for Wales have had in the National Assembly for Wales since 17 March.

Paul Murphy: Since my Department has offices in the National Assembly building at Cardiff Bay, my hon. Friend and I meet regularly there both with Assembly Members and with other people.

Ministerial Duties

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what planned meetings (a) he and (b) the Under-Secretary of State for Wales have not attended in the National Assembly for Wales in the past month; and if he will state the reasons for non-attendance.

Paul Murphy: Both myself and my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under Secretary attend a large number of formal and informal meetings in the National Assembly. However we are both aware that there will be an enormous number of meetings held in the Assembly and we are only invited to a small fraction of them.

Foreign Trade Missions

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many foreign trade missions (a) he and (b) the Under-Secretary of State for Wales have attended in each month since July 1999.

Paul Murphy: One, a mission led by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary Member to the Czech Republic. The reports of this visit from those companies accompanying my hon. Friend were very positive. The companies concerned have reported many new contacts made during the mission, which have directly resulted in some cases in requests for business partnerships and quotations for work in the Czech Republic.

Structural Funds

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he had with the Treasury on ensuring that (a) the full amount of European Structural Funds is drawn down to the National Assembly for Wales above the block grant and (b) full public match funding for the projects over and above the Barnett formula is provided during the next period of the next Comprehensive Spending Review.

Paul Murphy: I refer my hon. Member to the answers I gave the House on 10 April 2002, Official Report, column 9.

Criminal Damage

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the cost has been of criminal damage to his Department's buildings in each of the last four years.

Paul Murphy: Since my Department came into existence in July 1999 such costs have been de minimis.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

University Students

Ian Davidson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many and what percentage of the British population attended (a) Oxford or Cambridge universities, (b) independent schools and (c) both, pursuant to his answer of 26 March 2002, Official Report, column 822W, on permanent secretaries in the Home Civil Service, what steps are being taken to ensure that there is equality of opportunity for appointment to senior posts; and if he will make a statement.

Christopher Leslie: The figures are not available in the form requested. However, in 2000 2.4 per cent. of students in higher education were studying at Oxford or Cambridge University, and 7 per cent. of pupils aged 14 were attending assisted or independent schools. Also in 2000, 45 per cent. of the 5,900 students entering Oxford or Cambridge University came from independent schools.
	All appointments to senior posts, as with all permanent civil service posts, are made on the basis of merit and an individual's ability to do the job.

Consultants

John Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 26 March 2002, Official Report, column 821W, regarding the use of external consultants, if he will list each of the projects, and the purpose for which external consultants were used, in each of the last four years.

Christopher Leslie: In the last four years my Department has used external consultants on a number of projects and assignments, which have included work on: e-Government; Y2K; civil service and public sector reform; the new civil service pensions scheme; social exclusion; and domestic IT systems.
	Details of individual projects are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Private Finance Initiative

John Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many private finance initiative projects have been subject to refinancing after the contracts have been signed; and what has been the financial effect in each case.

Christopher Leslie: The Cabinet Office does not currently have any PFI projects for which contracts have been signed.

Engineering Technology Board

Richard Page: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many civil servants have member status of key institutions which are represented on the Engineering Technology Board.

Brian Wilson: holding answer 15 April 2002
	I have been asked to reply.
	This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

PRIME MINISTER

Lord Levy

Theresa May: To ask the Prime Minister what are the official title and responsibilities of Lord Levy.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answer my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Stockport (Ms Coffey) on 9 July 2001, Official Report, column 350W.

Lord Levy

Theresa May: To ask the Prime Minister how many Government press conferences Lord Levy has attended in his capacity as a representative of the Government.

Tony Blair: Lord Levy has attended press conferences when accompanying me or the Foreign Secretary.

Lord Levy

Theresa May: To ask the Prime Minister whether Lord Levy is obliged to report gifts, hospitality and services he receives in the course of his duties to a (a) permanent secretary and (b) representative of the Cabinet Secretariat.

Tony Blair: Lord Levy passes any gifts of value to my office, which handles them according to the usual procedures for Government gifts. Any hospitality and services provided to Lord Levy in the course of his duties as my envoy are known to the FCO and the UK diplomatic missions involved.

Lord Levy

Theresa May: To ask the Prime Minister if Lord Levy adheres to the Ministerial Code.

Tony Blair: Lord Levy is not a Minister.

Lord Levy

Theresa May: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list (a) each foreign visit that Lord Levy has undertaken acting as a representative of the Government and (b) the cost of each trip to public funds since 23 October 2001.

Tony Blair: Lord Levy has visited Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, Jordan, France and Germany in his role as the Prime Minister's envoy since 23 October 2001. Lord Levy received no remuneration and travels at his own expense. The FCO and diplomatic missions overseas provide him with practical support, the cost of which is not separately itemised.

Lord Levy

Theresa May: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  if he will list the speeches that Lord Levy has made since his appointment as a representative of the Government;
	(2)  if speeches by Lord Levy on foreign policy issues are cleared by the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary of State.

Tony Blair: Yes. Lord Levy has given one public speech in his capacity as my envoy, to the Foreign Affairs and Finance Committees of the Venezuelan National Assembly during his visit to Venezuela in November 2000.

Lord Levy

Theresa May: To ask the Prime Minister if Lord Levy informs the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary of State before making any foreign visit on behalf of the Government.

Tony Blair: Lord Levy's foreign visits as my envoy are agreed in advance by the Foreign Secretary and me.

Iraq

Harry Cohen: To ask the Prime Minister what Her Majesty's Government's requirements are of Iraq to avert the threat of military action.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave to hon. Members at Prime Minister's Questions, and to the statement I gave to the House on Wednesday 10th April.

Iraq

Harry Cohen: To ask the Prime Minister what Her Majesty's Government's requirements are of Iraq for the lifting of economic sanctions.

Tony Blair: The international community's requirements for lifting sanctions on Iraq is clearly laid out in UNSCR 687 (a copy of which can be found at www.un.org/Departments/unmovic/documents/docslist.htm).

Free Travel and Accommodation

Tim Collins: To ask the Prime Minister on how many occasions since 1997 he has accepted free travel and accommodation from overseas Governments.

Tony Blair: holding answer 15 April 2002
	It has been the policy of successive Governments to provide hospitality for official visits by Foreign Heads of State who come as guests of Her Majesty's Government.
	It has also been the policy of successive administrations that when Prime Ministers and Ministers make official visits abroad some accommodation and travel arrangements may be provided for by foreign Governments. Wherever costs to HMG occur they are laid out in the lists of overseas visits undertaken by Cabinet Ministers. These were placed in the Library of the House and published in the Official Report on 17 June 1999, columns 196–97W; on 28 July 2000, column 969W; and on 20 July 2001, column 467W.
	All travel is undertaken fully in accordance with the rules set out in the "Ministerial Code" and "Travel by Ministers", copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.
	With regard to my private visits all occasions have been registered in the Register of Members Interests.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Ethiopia

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what link the Government make between UK aid to Ethiopia and improved implementation of rights for women there.

Clare Short: We are developing a partnership with Ethiopia to help reduce the very high levels of poverty there. It is impossible to reduce poverty without empowering women and educating girls. Because, as Kofi Annan said, poverty has a woman's face and 70 per cent. of the poor of the world are female.

Uganda

Huw Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement about progress in reducing international debt in Uganda.

Hilary Benn: Uganda became the first country to benefit under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative, receiving $347 million dollars worth of debt relief in April 1998. Under the enhanced HIPC framework agreed in 1999, Uganda received additional debt relief of $656 million dollars when it reached its second Completion Point in May 2000, bringing its total HIPC relief to $1 billion dollars in net present value terms.

Zimbabwe

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on her Department's future aid projects in Zimbabwe.

Clare Short: The people of Zimbabwe face a bleak future under President Mugabe's policies. We are working with the international community to urge policy changes in order to halt the catastrophic decline in agriculture, the economy, and social services. We are also providing humanitarian assistance through the UN and non- governmental channels, and helping to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic that affects one in three adults.

Zimbabwe

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe.

Clare Short: The humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe is likely to worsen later this-year. The maize harvest in April and May is forecast to meet only 30 per cent. of national needs and the Zimbabwe Government has no credible plan to source food for its people. Drought has compounded the already serious problems caused by mismanagement of the economy, farming, and food markets. The UK is one of many urging policy changes on the part of the Zimbabwe Government, while providing emergency assistance through international and non- governmental channels.

Tanzania

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on aid to Tanzania.

Clare Short: We work with the Government of Tanzania to promote growth and reduce poverty. Britain is one of Tanzania's major development partners. Our bilateral assistance programme stands at £80 million for 2002–03. This goes towards strengthening economic and political governance, improving public services including health and education, and helping to provide key infrastructure such as water and roads in rural areas.

Tanzania

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make statement on her policy on aid to Tanzania.

Clare Short: DFID works with the Government of Tanzania to promote growth and reduce poverty. Britain is one of Tanzania's major development partners. Our bilateral assistance programme stands at £80 million for 2002–03. This goes towards strengthening economic and political governance, improving public services including health and education, and helping to provide key infrastructure such as water and roads in rural areas.

Afghanistan

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress has been made on the implementation of the Bonn agreement with respect to women's human rights.

Clare Short: The inauguration of the Afghan Interim Authority laid the foundations for progress on realising women's rights in Afghanistan. This includes the formation of a Ministry for Women and the announcement of the procedures for the Emergency Loya Jirga in June 2002, which will include 11 per cent. women.

Afghanistan

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much aid has been given to Afghanistan by the Government since the conflict began.

Clare Short: My Department has committed over £60 million since September 2001 to support both the Afghan Interim Authority and the United Nations-led humanitarian and recovery effort. This assistance is being channelled through United Nations agencies, the Red Cross movement and non-Governmental organisations. In addition, at the Tokyo Conference on the Reconstruction of Afghanistan, we pledged £200 million from the DFID budget over the next five years for both reconstruction and humanitarian assistance.

Afghanistan

Valerie Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress is being made to ensure that humanitarian aid is reaching those in greatest need in Afghanistan.

Clare Short: Despite three years of drought and 23 years of conflict, and the recent insecurity and population displacement, widespread famine in Afghanistan has been averted by the early and effective actions of the humanitarian community. Over 6.6 million people have been provided with food aid over the past six months, as well as other essential relief supplies such as tents, clothing and cooking equipment. Pockets of need remain in isolated or insecure areas, but agencies are using every means available to deliver assistance to those in need.

Afghanistan

John MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.

Clare Short: The humanitarian situation remains fragile in Afghanistan. After 23 years of conflict and three years of drought, as well as continued limited access to some areas of Afghanistan, our assessment is that significant needs will remain for at least the coming year in challenging and volatile operating conditions. The latest assessment by the United Nations and the Afghan Interim Administration estimates that approximately 9 million Afghans, including over 1 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), will be in need of assistance in Afghanistan in 2002.

Afghanistan

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions she has had with the multilateral institutions regarding the development of a PRSP for Afghanistan.

Clare Short: My Department is in contact with the multilateral institutions about Afghanistan's reconstruction, and is also providing support to the Afghan Assistance Coordination Authority, which developed the recently announced National Development Framework, to develop its capacity to manage the process of reconstruction. There are no immediate plans for the development of a PRSP for Afghanistan. However, the design and implementation of a National Development Framework could pave the way for a PRSP in due course.

Afghanistan

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  how much of the money committed to the reconstruction of Afghanistan over the next two years at Tokyo will be invested in the long- term funding of a civilian police force and judicial system;
	(2)  how much of the money committed to the reconstruction of Afghanistan over the next two years at Tokyo will be invested in (a) police training programmes and (b) demobilisation, disarmament and reintegration of ex-combatants programmes.

Clare Short: The UK is closely engaged with the Afghan Interim Authority (AIA) and international partners to develop an integrated framework for security sector reform encompassing the police, military and judicial systems. This includes discussions with Germany, who are acting as the national lead on police training programmes in Afghanistan. We have so far allocated £7 million to the Afghan Reconstruction Trust Fund, which will be used to fund recurrent costs of the AIA's budget, including the civil police force, judicial system and the re-integration of combatants into society.

Afghanistan

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much of the money committed to the reconstruction of Afghanistan over the next two years in Tokyo has been contributed to UN agencies working on the ground in Afghanistan, broken down by (a) agency and (b) amount.

Clare Short: At the Tokyo conference on the reconstruction of Afghanistan in January 2002, my Department committed £200 million over the next five years (from 1 April 2002) towards the country's reconstruction and humanitarian needs. The specific allocation of these resources is currently being finalised.
	Since September 2001, we have contributed over £40 million to UN agencies working in Afghanistan. We intend to continue to contribute to humanitarian and recovery programmes implemented by UN agencies, as well as channelling funds through the new World Bank-run Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund, to which we are making an initial contribution of £7 million this financial year.

Sustainable Development

Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the UK's contribution to the three preparation committee for the world summit on sustainable development.

Clare Short: The Government's strategic objective for the World Summit is "to make globalisation work for sustainable development, especially for the poorest". We see the Summit as part of a broader process that includes the Millennium Declaration, the WTO Doha Development Agenda and the agreement reached at the Financing for Development Conference in Monterrey. Priority areas for action at Johannesburg include fresh water, sanitation and energy.
	Officials from DEFRA, the Cabinet Office, DTI, FCO, the Scottish Executive and my Department attended the 3rd Prep Com in New York from 25 March to 5 April. The UK worked closely within the EU and in discussion with other countries in pursuit of our objectives. We will continue to do so in the run up to the Ministerial PrepCom in Indonesia from 27 May to 7 June.

Africa

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the future of the new partnership for African development.

Clare Short: The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) is an African owned and led initiative that the UK Government strongly supports. Its central principle is that it is Africa's responsibility to advance African development. NEPAD has identified as initial priorities the areas of peace and security and political and economic governance, which include an African peer review mechanism. I am placing in the Library of the House a recent speech outlining my views on priorities for NEPAD.

Africa

Betty Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what policies her Department is pursuing to reduce poverty in Africa.

Clare Short: We are pursuing a wide range of policies to reduce poverty in Africa, including more and better aid and greater coherence among policies which affect African nations.
	Bilateral aid to sub-Saharan Africa stands at over £630 million a year and is increasingly provided in the form of assistance to reforming Governments—to enable them to implement nationally-owned poverty reduction strategies. Bilateral aid to Africa has almost doubled since 1997 and is set to rise further.
	The UK has been at the forefront of efforts to set up a system for providing debt relief to countries with unsustainable debt levels. So far 19 countries in sub-Saharan Africa have reached decision point on the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative, and are receiving interim debt relief and three have completed the HIIPC process and are receiving full debt relief; we are working with African countries and with the international community to tackle conflict in the continent, including seeking resolution of existing conflicts as well as finding ways to prevent future disputes; working with the international community and partner countries to tackle key development challenges, including fighting HIV/AIDS, investing in health and education, investing in rural economies and infrastructure, promoting private investment and sustainable development, improved information and communications technology, and improving governance and service delivery; promoting changes in policies of wealthy countries which impact on Africa's development, such as trade and market access, agricultural subsidies, arms proliferation, corruption and bribery by international companies; working with African leaders and institutions to promote closer partnerships between Africa and the rest of the world, and supporting African owned development strategies, including the New Partnership for Africa's Development; and providing funds to, and working with, multilateral bodies such as the World bank, International Monetary Fund, the European Commission, the African Development bank, United Nations agencies, and others.

Africa

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the future of the new partnership for African development following the election results in Zimbabwe.

Clare Short: The situation in Zimbabwe highlights the need for African nations to improve standards of economic and political governance in the struggle to eliminate poverty. The proposed African peer review system has an important role to play. These proposals are being developed under the New Partnership for Africa's Development. It is clear that the Zimbabwe elections did not meet the standards already laid down by the Southern Africa Development Community.

Africa

Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the new partnership for African development.

Clare Short: The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) is one of the most important initiatives that has come from Africa in recent years. It represents a consensus among African countries that Africa should take responsibility for African development. NEPAD countries have identified economic and political governance and peace and security as their initial priorities.

Nigeria

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of progress towards better governance and curbing corruption in Nigeria.

Clare Short: Nigeria has a history of poor governance and very high levels of corruption which is the major cause of very high levels of poverty in this oil rich country. Nigeria transferred from military to civilian rule in 1999 amidst considerable optimism for reform. Improvements in the performance of Government and impact on corruption have been slow.
	Freedom of speech has generally been observed but on corruption the Government have not done enough. The introduction of anti-corruption legislation and an anti- corruption commission are important but not sufficient. Strong implementation is needed.
	My Department has expanded its involvement in Nigeria significantly since 1999. We are focused on improved governance at federal, state and local level but Nigeria is a difficult place to work and progress is slow.

Sierra Leone

Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the actions of her Department to help strengthen democracy and economic recovery in Sierra Leone.

Clare Short: Much of our work in Sierra Leone aims to strengthen democracy and promote economic recovery. We are providing technical assistance to the National Election Commission to help ensure that May's Presidential elections are free and fair. We are providing long-term support for wide-ranging public sector reforms, working with the police, the Ministry of Defence, the judiciary and the Anti-Corruption Commission to promote democratic values, including greater transparency, accountability and the rule of law. A copy of my speech in Sierra Leone in February outlining our priorities for action will be placed in the Library of the House.
	Economic recovery is one of the two main planks of the Sierra Leone Government's interim poverty reduction strategy. We are providing technical support to develop this into a full strategy, guiding Government policy and expenditure over the next few years to promote growth and poverty reduction. And we have been successful in pressing for early relief on Sierra Leone's unsustainable international debt under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative, a key step towards attracting renewed foreign investment.

Mozambique

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what her Department's priorities are for Mozambique within the context of the new development plan for Africa.

Clare Short: Our priority in Mozambique is to support the development, implementation and monitoring of the Government of Mozambique's own Action Plan for the Reduction of Absolute Poverty, known as the PARPA. Many of the central themes of the New Partnership for African Development, including the need for local ownership of development processes and for sound policies, better governance and accountability to citizens, are strongly reflected in the PARPA.
	The New Partnership for African Development also calls for donors to re-examine their ways of working and, in particular, to focus their resources on agreed priorities and to ensure that funds are increasingly channelled through Government's own systems. In Mozambique, DFID and other key donors have established a common mechanism for disbursing aid funds via the Government's central budget, supported by measures to improve capacity. This is vital to improve accountability and the effectiveness of aid, by ensuring that funds are allocated via the budget to the priority areas set out in the PARPA, and we are committed to increasing the proportion of our Mozambique programme which is channelled in this way.

Sudan

Patrick Hall: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on her Department's policy towards Sudan.

Clare Short: Sudan needs peace above all else. The UK is playing an increased part in the international effort to bring about peace. We have appointed a UK Special Representative for Sudan who will head a Unit made up of DFID and FCO staff. Their task will be to co-ordinate the UK contribution to the international efforts for peace in as many ways as possible.
	In the meantime we continue to address urgent humanitarian needs arising from conflict and drought, and we have provided over £40 million of humanitarian assistance to Sudan through NGOs and UN relief agencies since 1997. A more substantial UK development programme depends on an end to the war.

Sudan

Paul Goggins: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what action her Department is taking to promote peace in Sudan.

Clare Short: Since my visit to Sudan in January my Department, in consultation with the FCO, has endeavoured to raise the profile of the peace process in Sudan within the international community, and identify areas where the UK can play a key role in promoting peace.
	We are making some progress and our influence is growing, particularly through the recent appointment of a Special UK Representative for Sudan, Alan Goulty. He will be supported by a joint FCO/DFlD-staffed unit responsible for co-ordinating and participating in dialogue between both sides in the Sudanese conflict. The new unit will also ensure continuing links with other important international partners who share our wish for lasting peace in Sudan.

Angola

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the humanitarian situation in Angola.

Clare Short: The humanitarian situation in Angola has deteriorated further over the last 12 months. The humanitarian suffering as a result of the internal conflict has been huge and millions of people are living in life-threatening conditions. NGOs are providing some basic services, but their capacity is heavily over-stretched.
	I hope that the recent peace agreement between the Government and UNITA will lead to an early improvement in the humanitarian situation in Angola. Some benefits are already apparent. Aid agencies have been able to use roads which have been unsafe for many years to get food to the needy. Easier access to the worst affected areas could dramatically ease the humanitarian crisis facing the country.
	I recently visited Luanda and discussed the humanitarian situation with the Government and the need to follow up the peace agreement with urgent measures to assist all displaced people, and to help them return to their homes as rapidly as possible.

Somalia

Brian White: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance her Department has recently given to Somalia.

Clare Short: My Department continues to provide humanitarian assistance to Somalia in response to International Agency appeals and in support of NGO initiatives. We have provided over £3 million of assistance in the past year.
	The pursuit of a lasting peace agreement in Somalia remains a priority. We, with the international community, continue to support regional and national efforts to promote dialogue and political reconciliation in Somalia.

Cameroon

Jane Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what effect the Monterrey talks will have on reducing poverty in Cameroon.

Clare Short: The Monterrey meeting did not discuss the situation in specific. Whether Cameroon will benefit from the extra development assistance pledged at Monterrey will depend on the degree to which the Government of Cameroon implements a strong poverty reduction strategy.

Older People

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what action her Department is taking to help older people living in developing countries.

Clare Short: My Department's aim is the elimination of poverty in poorer countries. Older people are often among the poorest.
	We adopt a rights-based approach. We seek to ensure that poor people are consulted on policies and decisions that affect them and use participatory methods to understand people's perception of their rights and the obstacles they face in accessing entitlements.
	We are supporting the African Union's leadership in promoting and guiding national policies on aging in their membership, working to strengthen Government and civil society capacity for addressing aging issues, and assisted the policy development process in the preparations for the Second World Assembly on Aging earlier this month.

Palestine

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what projects in the West Bank and Gaza have received financial support from her Department during the last five years.

Clare Short: The following table lists the projects funded since 1997, the start date, and the total allocation.
	
		
			 Project Allocation (£) 
		
		
			 1997  
			 Birzeit Food Quality Control Unit 425,872 
			 Group Guaranteed Lending 1,820,000 
			 Assistance to the Education Sector 3,225,700 
			 Population Census 80,000 
			 Newcastle University—Hydrology 715,000 
			 Primary Health Care 950,000 
			 Gender and Law 1,628,128 
			 VAT Audit Training 102,000 
			   
			 1998  
			 Economic Protocol 730,281 
			 Southern Area Water Appraisal 45,000 
			 Strengthening Parliamentary Democracy 775,000 
			 Rural Water Schemes Appraisal 110,000 
			 Legal Sector Assistance—Phase 2 70,252 
			 Health Management Strengthening 3,600,000 
			   
			 1999  
			 Bethlehem 2000 Doha Sewerage 1,400,000 
			 Save the Children Fund Water and Sanitation Project—Dura 1,678,092 
			 Save the Children Fund Water and Sanitation Project—Jabalia 908,905 
			 Save the Children Fund Water and Sanitation Project—Anabta 1,610,859 
			 Unification and Development of Legislation 775,000 
			 Assistance to the Negotiations Affairs Department 4,200,000 
			 Tele-Cardiology (Peres Centre) 850,000 
			 Sustainable Management of West Bank and Gaza Aquifers 1,971,308 
			 Gaza Midwifery 545,000 
			 Hebron Water Access and Storage 513,572 
			 Economy and Trade Policy Development 495,057 
			 Save the Children Fund Water and Sanitation Project—Rafah 2,013,836 
			 Census Reports 92,500 
			 Legislative Council Library 353,700 
			   
			 2000  
			 Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees Women's Health 987,000 
			 Public Administration Institutional Development 1,900,000 
			 Primary Health Care Management—Phase 2 1,550,000 
			   
			 2001  
			 Participatory Poverty Assessment 500,000 
			 Utilisation of Census Data 700,000 
			 Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees Emergency Response 520,000 
			 World Bank Employment Generation Programme 1,500,000 
			 OXFAM Humanitarian Grant 34,000 
			 Mental Health and Trauma Counselling 450,000 
			 World Food Programme Appeal 500,000 
			 Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Grant 300,000 
			 Supporting Literacy 290,000 
			 Child Health Development 1,215,000 
			 World Bank NGO Project—Phase 2 4,500,000 
			 Reducing the Impact of Violence on Palestinian Children 517,000 
			 Palestinian Hydrology Group—Water Sector Grant 250,000 
			 Economic Policy Programme—Phase 3 1,015,000 
			 Hebron Water Access and Storage—Phase 2 5,000,000 
			   
			 2002  
			 World Bank Emergency Services Support Programme (March) 5,000,000 
			 Centre for European Policy Studies' Middle East and Euro-Med Research Programme 135,500

Palestine

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what projects in the west bank and Gaza have received financial support from the European Union during the last five years.

Clare Short: The European Commission (EC) has compiled a table of its assistance provided to the Palestinians since 1994. I will place a copy in the House of Commons Library. The UK contributes 19 per cent. of the EC budget.

Bushmeat

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions her Department has had with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs about bushmeat.

Clare Short: DFID staff meet regularly with DEFRA staff for Inter-Departmental Conservation Co-Ordination meetings. They have not held formal discussions about bushmeat.

New Partnership for Africa's Development

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions she has had with the Government of South Africa regarding the New Partnership for Africa's Development.

Clare Short: On 4 April, I held discussions in Johannesburg with Professor Wiseman Nkuhlu, President Mbeki's Economic Adviser, who chairs the Steering Committee of the New Partnership for African Development. I also gave a speech titled "Can Africa Halve Poverty by 2015?—the challenge for NEPAD" to which Professor Nkuhlu replied.

Poverty Diseases

Tony Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what information she has received on how the European Union budget line B7–6211 on the fight against poverty diseases is to be spent.

Clare Short: The 2002 European Community budget includes euro 25.2 million for budget line B7–6211 (HIV/AIDS Policies and Programmes). Euro 20 million is intended to support specific projects with a focus on programmes targeting HIV prevention in youth. Euro 5.2 million will support a number of specific initiatives including the Barcelona HIV/AIDS conference, the Asia-Pacific Leadership Forum and the AIDS Vaccine Preparedness Project (with International AIDS Vaccine Initiative and the World bank).
	The Commission have tabled a draft regulation to cover the diseases of poverty (HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis) which sets out how it is proposed to spend the funds in budget line B7–6211 in 2003–06. This draft regulation is currently under consideration and is being discussed by UK officials with other member states.

Poverty Diseases

Tony Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much expenditure has been committed for this year of budget line B7–6211 (fight against poverty diseases) in the European Union; and what the projected spending under this budget is for this financial year.

Clare Short: Allocations for budget line B7–6211 (Aid for poverty-related diseases) for 2002 are:
	Commitments—euro 26,123,000
	Payments—euro 18,080,000.
	In addition, euro 60 million allocated to this budget line in 2001 will be paid to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria in 2002. There is no 2002 payment outturn projection available but by the end of February euro 0.8 million had been spent.

Departmental Report

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when the 2002 Departmental Report will be published.

Clare Short: DFID's Departmental Report 2002 will be published on 24 April.

Private Finance Initiative

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many Private Finance Initiative projects have been subject to refinancing after the contracts have been signed; and what has been the financial effect in each case.

Clare Short: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on January 2002, Official Report, column 224W.

Staff Pay

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the cost in 2001–02 was of the pay increase to staff in her Department, agencies and the non-departmental public bodies for which she is responsible; and what the cost of the forthcoming increase will be in 2002–03.

Clare Short: The overall cost of the pay increase 2001–02 was 4.75 per cent. for staff below the senior civil service and 4.6 per cent. for senior civil servants. The overall cost of the 2002–03 increase for staff below the senior civil service will be 3.9 per cent. We are unable to confirm the overall increase in 2002–03 for senior civil servants at this time as we are still assessing the impact of the new senior civil service pay system. The Department is not responsible for any agencies or non-departmental bodies.

Staff Pay

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what have been the total salary costs of each of the non-departmental public bodies for which she is responsible in each of the last five years.

Clare Short: We do not pay a salary to any of the members of our public bodies; they receive reimbursement of travel expenses.
	As from December 2001 an honorarium of £5,000 was paid to the Chair of the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission and from January 2002 and honorarium of £200 per meeting was paid to members who take part in a Scholarship Selection Committee.
	One of my civil servants holds an ex officio post on the Overseas Service Pensions Scheme Advisory Board. His salary costs, estimated as a percentage of the amount of time spent dealing with the work of the board, are as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 2001–02 898.67 
			 2000–01 878.92 
			 1999–2000 1,059.23 
			 1998–99 1,034.00 
			 1997–98 971.96

New Deal

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to her answer of 26 March 2002, Official Report, column 872W, on the new deal for young people, how many people have been employed by her Department under the scheme in each of the last four years.

Clare Short: The information is as follows:
	1998 and 1999: nil
	2000: two
	2001: two.

New Deal

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to her answer of 26 March 2002, Official Report, column 872W, on the New Deal, how many people employed on the scheme in each of the last four years have subsequently found subsidised employment for more than 13 weeks.

Clare Short: None.

Correspondence

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to her answer of 26 March 2002, Official Report, column 887W, on correspondence, for what reasons 13 per cent. of letters from hon. Members and 10 per cent. of letters from members of the public were not answered within the target period.

Clare Short: Delays occurred for a variety of reasons. These include, while seeking agreement across Whitehall on a reply when more than one Department had an interest, when letters were transferred between Departments when the lead responsibility to reply was unclear and while waiting for an agreed standard line to campaign letters. Less frequently replies were not sent within the target period because the information required was not immediately available, for example when seeking information from sources overseas.

Creche Facilities

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to her answer of 26 March 2002, Official Report, column 888W, on crèche facilities, what the costs are of the holiday playschemes at East Kilbride and London.

Clare Short: Further to my answer of 26 March 2002, Official Report, column 888W, on créche facilities, the costs of the holiday playschemes for our staff in East Kilbride and London are as follows:
	East Kilbride
	£10 annual registration fee for first child and £5 for each additional family member plus £8.50 per child per day, paid wholly by the parents.
	London
	£26 per child per day of which the parent and DFID pay £13 each. For 2001, the cost to DFID on subsidising DFID parents' use of the Whitehall Holiday Playscheme was £1,373.56.

Overseas Projects

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the value for money achieved by the management of the Natural Resources System Programme.

Clare Short: The programme was most recently assessed last year. We concluded that the management is cost-effective and that good progress is being made towards achievement of the programme's objectives.

Overseas Projects

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the value for money achieved by the Local and Regional Government Institutional Strengthening Project in the Ukraine.

Clare Short: DFID awarded the contract for the management of the Local and Regional Institutional Strengthening Project in 1999 and value for money was a key consideration when selecting the management agents by competitive tender. A comprehensive review of the performance of the project was conducted by the Eastern Europe and Central Asia Department in October 2001. The review team concluded that the project is successfully assisting central and regional government to deliver local services more efficiently and represents good value for money.

Overseas Projects

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the value for money achieved by the Gansu Basic Education Project in China.

Clare Short: The Gansu Basic Education Project began implementation in December 1999 and currently is scheduled to end in December 2005. Regular monitoring visits are carried out by our Education Adviser in the DFID Beijing office. We also assess progress and value for money through six-monthly project reports and through our consultants. Specific annual review missions are also carried out by a DFID London and Beijing team to assess progress against the project purpose and outputs. The last annual review took place in October 2001. Good progress has been made. There has been an improvement in net enrolment rates. Drop-out rates have reduced and there has been an improvement in transfer rates from primary to junior middle school. A number of reform- orientated innovations piloted in the project have been noted by the Education Ministry and adopted by other western provinces (eg. participatory teacher training in Shaanxi), donors (eg. school development planning by UNICEF) and NGOs working in China (eg. Plan International). The next annual review will be the project's mid-term review in October.

Overseas Projects

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the value for money achieved by the Sustainable Rural Livelihoods pilot project in Russia.

Clare Short: DFID awarded the contract for the management of the Sustainable Rural Livelihoods Pilot Project in 1999 and value for money was a key consideration when selecting the management agents by competitive tender. A mid-term review of the performance of the project was undertaken by a team of officials from DFID's Eastern Europe and Central Asia Department, accompanied by representatives from the World Bank and Russia's Federal Ministry of Agriculture in October 2001. The review team concluded that the Project was influencing policy making at both the regional and federal level, making a very useful contribution to the implementation of the land reform policy in Russia, helping with market reform in the rural sector, and represented good value for money.

Reproductive Health

Tony Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on steps that have been taken in the European Union to strengthen the administration of reproductive health programmes; what staffing provisions are in place to deal with reproductive health programmes; and what the budgeted amount for this financial year is for such programmes.

Clare Short: One of my Department's objectives for EC reform has been to improve the mix of skills in the Commission in order to strengthen the EC's contribution to meeting the Millennium Development Goals. The Commission's central staffing for health issues has significantly increased over the past year. Within DG Development there are now four (and soon to be five) full-time health professionals, and a seconded UK health expert has a specific remit to lead on reproductive health. Within EuropeAid there are approximately 20 staff working exclusively on health.
	EC expenditure on reproductive health is provided both from a specific budget line (B7–6312) and—the majority—through country programmes in the form of projects and budget support. Budget line B7–6312 is intended to support innovative approaches and the development of new knowledge. Work is underway to link EC expenditure to specific categories but at present the Commission do not have full details of their overall spending on reproductive health. The allocations for budget line B7–6312 in the 2002 budget are:
	commitments 1 —8,584,000 euros
	payments—9,141,900 euros.
	1 Commitments made in one year are usually implemented, ie paid, over a series of subsequent years.

Reproductive Health

Tony Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement about (a) the budgeted amounts in the European Union for reproductive health spending in each of the past five years, (b) the actual spending and (c) steps being taken to ensure that budget allocation and expenditure match each other in the future.

Clare Short: EC expenditure on reproductive health is provided both from a specific budget line (B7–6312) and—the majority—through country programmes in the form of projects and budget support. Budget line B7–6312 is intended to support innovative approaches and the development of new knowledge. Work is under way to link EC expenditure to specific categories but at present the Commission do not have full details of their overall spending on reproductive health.
	Commitments and payments information for budget line B7–6312 is readily available only for the past four years.
	
		Reproductive health budget(10) -- euro million
		
			  1999 2000 2001 2002(11) 
		
		
			 Commitment allocations(12) 24.5 19.9 22.0 8.6 
			 Commitment outturn 9.3 23.0 21.3 — 
			 Payment allocations 15.6 23.9 24.4 9.7 
			 Payment outturn 10.7 20.7 8.2 1.9 
		
	
	(10) HIV/AIDS included prior to 2001.
	(11) Outturn data as at end February 2002.
	(12) Commitments made in one year are usually implemented, ie paid, over a series of subsequent years.
	The EC are taking steps to increase their efficiency through a programme of reforms begun in 2000. The reforms include restructuring the Directorates General responsible for external actions and development, simplifying internal procedures and strengthening the capacity of country offices.

Reproductive Health

Tony Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on what assessment she has made of whether the European Union is adequately organised and staffed to spend budget line B7–6312 on reproductive health.

Clare Short: My Department has not made any formal assessment of the Commission's organisation and staffing in relation to budget line B7–6312 (Aid for population and reproductive health care). However, we understand that three health professionals (one in DG Development and two in EuropeAid) have specific responsibility for management of this relatively small budget line 1 , and that during the evaluation of proposals they are supported by additional external technical experts.
	1 Commitments allocation of euro 8.5 million for 2002.

Reproductive Health

Tony Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the performance of the European Union has been in spending this year's budget line B7–6312 of 8.6 million euros on reproductive health.

Clare Short: The EC financial year runs from 1 January. As of 28 February, no new commitments from the euro 8.6 million budgeted had yet been approved but euro 1.9 million of a possible euro 9.7 million payments had been spent.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Departmental Secondments

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff in his Department have been seconded to jobs in the (a) private and (b) public sector in each of the last four years.

Ian McCartney: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Mr. Leslie) on the 7 February 2002, Official Report, column 1130W.

Housing Benefit

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to amend the Housing Benefits (General) Regulations 1987.

Malcolm Wicks: Work has already begun on consolidating the housing benefit regulations and we plan to lay consolidated regulations before the House as soon as practicable.
	Technical amendments will also be made to reflect changes to other benefits. These include:
	Consequential changes that support the introduction of the loss of benefit provisions (known as Two Strikes) as contained in the Fraud Act 2001 and the Loss of Benefit Regulations 2001. Two Strikes is designed to be a deterrent against continued abuse of the benefit system by introducing a benefit sanction for those convicted separately of two benefit offences; housing benefit and council tax benefit are both covered by the Two Strikes provisions.
	The phased introduction from April 2002 of provisions under the Fraud Act 2001, including the powers for authorised officers from DWP and local authorities to require information from prescribed organisations such as banks and building societies. The information-gathering powers are covered by a statutory Code of Practice, which has been subject to a three-month public consultation and has been laid before both Houses of Parliament.
	With the introduction of the pension credit, we are making changes to remove the need to re-claim HB every year for pensioners aged 65 and over. For those over 65, we will be making awards for five years. The HB income threshold will also be raised by the maximum amount of the pension credit savings reward, to an expected level of £113.80 for single pensioners in 2003 and we will treat pensioners' capital more generously.
	In addition, the following amendments are also planned:
	Amendments to the regulations governing the eligibility of child care cost in the calculation of housing benefit;
	Amendments to bring the income related benefit provisions for war widowers' pensions in line with those for war widows; and
	Annual uprating student disregards and student rent deduction.
	These proposed changes have been considered by local authority representatives in the Housing Benefit Regulation Scrutiny Group.

Fair Trade

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether fair trade products are sold in his Department.

Nick Brown: The Department has outsourced catering services and the suppliers are responsible for sourcing products sold to staff. A review of the sale of fair trade products with the primary catering supplier on 13 March (during Fair Trade Fortnight) confirmed that fair trade products, such as coffee and tea, are sold in the Department. This review also confirmed that, while the supplier currently operates ethical, environmentally appropriate procurement policies, they are also working to develop and introduce a specific fair trade strategy. The Department supports this initiative and will monitor progress closely.

Mr. Tom Mann

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the compatibility of the practice of sessional doctors sitting on tribunals with the European Convention on Human Rights, following the complaint lodged with the officer of the Benefits Agency by Mr. Tom Mann; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: My noble Friend the Lord Chancellor appoints appeal tribunal members. The qualification requirements are set out in regulations and do not exclude sessional doctors. The regulations preclude doctors from hearing an appeal in which they have previously given advice to a decision maker in the Department or prepared reports on a claimant's medical condition.

Maternity Benefit

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many UK employees were in receipt of maternity benefit in each of the last five years.

Maria Eagle: There are two maternity payments available to expectant mothers in work; statutory maternity pay (SMP) paid by employers to their employees, and maternity allowance (MA) paid by the Department to employees who do not qualify for SMP, the self-employed and those women who have recently left their jobs.
	It is estimated that around 0.3 million 1 women in Great Britain will have received SMP from their employer in 2001–02.
	The available information on maternity allowance awards to employees is in the table 2 .
	
		
			  Number(15),(16) 
		
		
			 5 April 1999 to 1 April 2000 28,000 
			 6 April 1998 to 3 April 1999 29,000 
			 7 April 1997 to 4 April 1998 25,000 
			 1 April 1996 to 5 April 1997 28,000 
		
	
	(13) The estimated number of SMP cases in 2001–02 is derived from case load estimates underlying forecast expenditure on SMP but may be subject to revision once information from the National Insurance Records System 2 is available.
	(14) Maternity allowance figures for 2000–01 are due to be released on 25 April.
	(15) Figures are rounded to the nearest thousand.
	(16) Figures for Northern Ireland are not included. Social Security matters in Northern Ireland are the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
	Source:
	1 per cent. samples of the benefit computer system. The data excludes late notifications to the system, a small number of cases held clerically and is subject to a degree of sampling error.

New Deal

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of those who left the gateway of the New Deal for Young People without proceeding to any of the options were in full time employment 12 months later.

Nick Brown: Up to the end of December 2001, 68 per cent. of the young people who had left the New Deal for an unsubsidised job at the Gateway stage had not reclaimed jobseeker's allowance within 12 months.
	Source: New Deal Evaluation Database.

New Deal

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his latest estimate is of the (a) number and (b) proportion of people leaving the new deal for young people who were in sustained jobs (i) six and (ii) 12 months later.

Nick Brown: Up to the end of December 2001, of the 264,100 new deal leavers who had moved into jobs, 214,700 (81 per cent.) had not reclaimed jobseeker's allowance within six months and 180,600 (68 per cent.) had not reclaimed it within 12 months.
	Note: The figures include those leavers who have been in employment for less than 6–12 months, but who have not yet returned to JSA.
	Source: New Deal Evaluation Database

Welfare Bill

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of the total welfare bill was spent on those living on below 60 per cent. of median income in each year since 1997.

Malcolm Wicks: The information requested is not available.

ONE Service

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if the four ONE pilots will cease to run after March.

Nick Brown: In October 2001 the ONE pilots in south-east Essex, Calderdale and Kirklees and part of the Clyde Coast and Renfrew pilot became Jobcentre Plus pathfinders. All of the remaining ONE pilots will continue to operate after March 2002 and will be converted to Jobcentre Plus offices in due course.

Lone Parents

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the New Deal for Lone Parents advertising campaign.

Nick Brown: Advertising is one of the methods used to make sure that lone parents are aware of the help and support available through the new deal for lone parents (NDLP) to help them move into work.
	So far, over 300,000 lone parents have volunteered to participate in NDLP and over 130,000 of these have found work.

Maladministration

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what payments have been made to individuals following findings of maladministration by ombudsmen with responsibility for agencies under remit of his Department in the last 12 months; and what plans he has to review the powers to increase the level of awards that can be made.

Nick Brown: holding answer 10 April 2002
	Comprehensive details of financial redress paid in cases where the Parliamentary Ombudsman has completed an investigation and issued a formal report are not held centrally. However, based on such records as are available, payments amounting to £155,866.51 have been agreed in 94 cases during the 12 months to 31 March 2002. This figure excludes cases where a statutory resolution has been found.
	Each case is judged on its individual merits. Where the Ombudsman finds that maladministration has occurred and that financial redress is appropriate, the general principle adopted is to provide redress which is fair and reasonable in the light of all the facts and circumstances of the case. Where the complainant has suffered actual financial loss as a result of the maladministration, or faced costs which would otherwise not have been incurred (and which are reasonable in the circumstances), the general approach is to restore the complainant to the position he or she would have enjoyed had the maladministration not occurred. Where there is not an actual financial loss or cost, careful judgment is used to decide whether financial redress is appropriate and, if so, what constitutes fair and reasonable financial redress. There are no plans to alter these principles.

Child Support Agency

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects the new CSA rules to come into force for new cases.

Malcolm Wicks: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 20 March 2002, Official Report, columns 315–16.

Action Teams for Jobs

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in which locations Action Teams for Jobs are in operation.

Nick Brown: The 63 Action Teams for Jobs are in the following locations.
	Barnsley and Rotherham
	Birmingham North
	Birmingham South
	Blackburn with Darwen
	Blaenau Gwent
	Brent
	Brighton and Hove
	Caerphilly
	Chester-le-Street
	Cornwall
	Doncaster
	Dundee, City of
	Easington
	East Ayrshire
	Greenwich
	Glasgow Central
	Glasgow North
	Glasgow South
	Glasgow West
	Hackney
	Halton
	Hartlepool
	Haringey
	Highlands and Islands
	Islington
	Kingston-upon-Hull
	Knowsley
	Lambeth
	Lewisham
	Liverpool Central
	Liverpool North
	Liverpool South
	Manchester Central
	Manchester North
	Manchester South
	Merthyr Tydfil
	Middlesbrough
	Neath Port Talbot
	Newcastle-upon-Tyne
	Newham
	North Lanarkshire
	North West Wales
	Nottingham, City of
	Pembrokeshire
	Plymouth
	Redcar and Cleveland
	Rhondda, Cynon, Taff
	Salford
	Sefton
	Sheffield
	South Tyneside
	Southwark
	St. Helens
	Stockton-on-Tees
	Sunderland
	Thanet
	Tower Hamlets
	Waltham Forest
	Wansbeck
	West Dunbartonshire
	Wales Objective One 1
	Wirral
	Wolverhampton
	1 Covers areas of Wales with European Social Fund Objective One status which are not part of another Action Team. Includes selected wards in Bridgend, Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Torfaen and Swansea.

Performance Targets

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what new initiatives his Department has taken in 2001–02 to assist in achieving its Public Service Agreement targets.

Nick Brown: holding answer 10 April 2002
	Information about progress on PSA targets will be published in the Department's 2002 departmental report.

Medical Assessment

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what action he is taking to harmonise and disseminate national definitions of disability for statistical and policy purposes.

Maria Eagle: Different definitions of disability and conditions of entitlement are in use within UK legislation and for relevant schemes and services. There are no plans to seek to harmonise these because they serve different purposes and reflect the fact that disability affects people in many different ways and to greatly differing degrees.

Vocational Rehabilitation

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to enhance input by psychologists into the vocational rehabilitation service.

Maria Eagle: Jobcentre Plus employs approximately 80 occupational psychologists in its disability service. Their role is partly to help clients with disabilities who have particular problems in finding or keeping suitable employment, and partly to assist the network of disability employment advisers and access to work advisers. The psychologists' work has been reviewed over the past three years. As a result improvements have been introduced, especially to their work with clients who have mental health problems, dyslexia and other specific learning disabilities and with people who have sustained head injuries.

Job Retention

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a progress statement on the job retention pilot studies.

Nick Brown: Nine organisations were funded to develop and test the feasibility of their proposals for the job retention pilot studies during the three months ending on 15 March 2002. The detailed bids are currently being considered, together with a report on the evaluation methodology.

Correspondence

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he intends to reply to the letter dated 4 March from the hon. Member for Banff and Buchan regarding his constituent, Mr. Light, of Banffshire.

Alan Johnson: I have been asked to reply.
	I am currently considering the matters raised by the hon. Member as they more appropriately fall within my responsibility and will write to him shortly.

Minimum Income Guarantee

Peter Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the rise in the minimum income guarantee has been since 1997 after taking account of inflation.

Ian McCartney: pursuant to the reply, 10 April 2002, c. 228W
	The minimum income guarantee was introduced in 1999. Since 1999, annual rises in the minimum income guarantee have been linked to earnings. The rises, after taking into account inflation increases and the differences in the premiums paid, are shown in the table.
	
		Percentage increase 
		
			   Single Couple 
		
		
			 April 1997 n/a n/a 
			 April 1998 0.0 0.0 
			 April 1999 4.4 4.5 
			 April 2000 3.0 3.0 
			 April 2001 15.9 13.7 
			 April 2002 4.8 4.9

Departmental Projects

Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which of his Department's projects have received sponsorship since 1997, including (a) details of the sponsor, (b) the nature of the project, (c) the date of the project, (d) the total cost of the project and (e) the amount of money involved in the sponsorship deal.

Nick Brown: holding answer 11 April 2002
	In line with the Government's commitment in its response to the Sixth report from the Committee on Standards in Public Life, details on individual amounts of sponsorship valued at more than £5,000 will be disclosed in Departmental annual reports.

HEALTH

Public Services

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what meetings he has had and representations he has received, by date and subject, from Members of the National Assembly for Wales and the Welsh Assembly Executive, regarding the increased use of private sector funding on delivering public services, broken down by date and subject.

John Hutton: No meetings have been held with Members of the National Assembly for Wales, or the Welsh Assembly Executive, nor representations received from them regarding the increased use of private sector funding on delivering public services.

Advertising

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent on advertising by his Department in each of the last five years; and if he will give a breakdown of the largest items of expenditure in each year.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 20 February 2002
	Major advertising campaigns commissioned by the Communications Directorate are in the table as follows.
	
		£ million 
		
			  1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 (17)2001–02 
		
		
			 Nurse and other staff recruitment 1.43 1.30 4.90 4.21 4.90 6.00 
			 Organ and blood donation 0.38 0.62 2.47 (18)0.69 0.43 0.18 
			 Mental health — — — — — 0.18 
			 Smoking cessation — — — (19)6.18 8.97 (20)7.79 
			 Anti-fraud — — 0.38 — 0.18 0 
			 Flu immunisation — — — — 2.01 1.45 
			 NHS Direct — 0.12 0.78 1.24 0.28 1.25 
			 Appropriately prescribed medicine (ie antibiotics) — — — 0.91 — 0.44 
			 Others 0.58 — — 2.08 4.20 2.52 
			 Total 2.39 2.04 8.53 15.31 20.97 19.81 
		
	
	(17) Planned (to be updated).
	(18) The Department's spend on blood donation advertising reduced in 1999–2000 because most of this activity was funded directly by the National Blood Authority, who took over full responsibility for this expenditure on 1 April 2000.
	(19) Prior to 1999–2000 advertising on smoking was undertaken by the Health Education Authority (HEA).
	(20) Including Asian specialist press.

Advertising

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the publicity and advertising campaigns run by his Department in each of the last four years, specifying the (a) purpose, (b) cost to public funds, (c) number of staff involved and (d) method of evaluation in each case.

Hazel Blears: I refer the hon. Member to an answer I gave the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton) today, which listed, with costs the major advertising campaigns run by the Department for the period in question.
	The table shows the purpose and method of evaluation for each campaign.
	
		
			 Campaign and purpose Evaluation 
		
		
			 Antibiotics  
			 To encourage the public not to over use antibiotics and thus reduce their effectiveness Pre and post tracking research of advertising campaign 
			   
			 Blood donation(21)  
			 To encourage more members of the general public to become blood donors The number of people registering to give blood, calls to the blood donation helpline and amount of blood given 
			   
			 CALM  
			 To promote the CALM mental health helpline to young men on the onset of depression Feedback from regional co-ordinators in the active zones, calls to the helpline, pre and post launch campaign research 
			   
			 Drugs  
			 To publicise services provided by National Drugs Helpline Calls to the helpline monitored 
			   
			 Flu  
			 To advise general public that those at risk (people 65 and over and others suffering from specified illnesses) should see their GP for a free flu jab Returns from health authorities on immunisation take up among the target age group. Pre and post campaign tracking research 
			 Mind Out  
			 Campaign to reduce the stigma associated with all those with mental health problems Quality and quantity of editorial coverage generated; assessment of attitude shifts identified by key campaign partners 
			   
			 NHS including nurse recruitment  
			 To encourage new recruits to apply for training in nursing and other professions in the NHS and those who are qualified and have left to return to the NHS Volume and analysis of helpline response. Pre and post campaign tracking, analysis of volume and quality of recruitment and retention related editorial. Returner recruitment assessed through report from regional offices 
			   
			 NHS Direct  
			 Promotion of 24-hour nurse led health advice telephone service Pre and post tracking research of advertising campaign and number of calls to helpline 
			   
			 Organ donation  
			 To encourage more people to enlist on the Organ Donor Register Pre and post campaign tracking research of advertising campaign and calls to the Organ Donation Literature Line 
			   
			 Prescription fraud  
			 Advertising, publications and helpline to inform service providers and users about the new penalty charges enforced for fraudulent claims for free or reduced costs of treatment Analysis of helpline response 
			   
			 Preventing teenage pregnancy  
			 National campaign aimed at halving the rate of teenage conceptions among under-18s by 2010 and lower the incidence of STIs among 13 to 18-year-olds Pre and post advertising tracking research, calls to Sexwise helpline and visits to the related websites 
			   
			 Adult sexual health  
			 To decrease the rates of sexually transmitted infections among 18 to 30-year-olds and raise awareness and understanding, providing information so people can make informed choices about their own sexual health Analysis of calls to helpline, visits to related website and some pre and post advertising tracking research 
			   
			 Social work recruitment  
			 National advertising and marketing campaign to encourage applications to be a social worker Volume and analysis of helpline response, qualitative and quantitative analysis of recruitment related editorial generated. In the long term assessment of impact on the number of applications 
			   
			 Smoking(22)  
			 To encourage smokers to give up smoking Pre and post tracking research of advertising campaign and calls to the NHS Smoking Helpline 
			   
			 Walk in centres  
			 To raise awareness of a new health care choice Number of visitors to centres measured constantly to track changes. Patients asked how they found out about the service on arrival at centres. Street poll of 5,000 patients outside four NHS walk in centres to discover views on service conducted 2000–01 
			   
			 Winter  
			 To encourage the general public to make appropriate use of NHS services and other sources of health advice including NHS Direct Pre and post tracking research of advertising campaign and number of calls to NHS Direct 
		
	
	(21) The National Blood Authority (NBA) took over full responsibility of this campaign on 1 April 2000.
	(22) Prior to 1999–2000 advertising on smoking was undertaken by the Health Education Authority.
	It is not possible to provide a breakdown of staff by each individual campaign. However the numbers of staff employed in the project management of advertising campaigns and publicity campaigns on 1 January each year are as follows:
	1 January 1999: 15
	1 January 2000: 21
	1 January 2001: 28 1
	1 January 2002: 31.
	1 The Department took on direct control for a number of public health campaigns including Smoking Cessation with the closure of the Health Education Authority on 31 March 2000.

Children's Services

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many whole time equivalent NHS (a) consultant child and adolescent psychiatrists, (b) clinical psychologists working with children and (c) psychotherapists worked with children in each year since 1997.

Jacqui Smith: Whole time equivalent numbers for child and adolescent psychiatrists, clinical psychologists and psychotherapists are shown in the tables. Information is not collected about the numbers of clinical psychologists and psychotherapists who work with children.
	
		Hospital medical staff within the child and adolescent psychiatry and psychotherapy specialties -- Whole time equivalent
		
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 
		
		
			 England at 30 September  
			 All staff 640 650 670 710 700 
			 of which  
			 Consultant 390 400 420 420 420 
			   
			 Psychotherapy  
			 All staff 140 130 120 120 120 
			 of which  
			 Consultant 80 90 90 80 80 
		
	
	
		NHS hospital and community health services (HCHS): qualified scientific, therapeutic and technical staff in the specified areas of work -- Whole time equivalents
		
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 
		
		
			 England at 30 September  
			 Clinical psychology 3,380 3,660 3,760 4,050 4,400 
			 Psychotherapy 320 350 360 410 470 
		
	
	Note:
	Figures are rounded to the nearest 10
	Source:
	Department of Health medical and dental work force census

Heroin Addicts

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the estimated number of heroin addicts is in (a) the United Kingdom and (b) coalfield constituencies.

Jacqui Smith: The information is not available in the form requested. The information available for users presenting to drug misuse agencies (including both doctors and other agencies), with heroin as their main drug of misuse in the six-month period ending 31 March 2001 is given in the table.
	
		Number of people presenting for treatment at drug agencies, with heroin reported as the main drug, during the six-month period ending 31 March 2001
		
			 Area of treatment Number of users 
		
		
			 Great Britain 26,424 
			 England 22,431 
			 Health authorities in England classified as "coalfields" 3,669 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The data are derived from the Department of Health Statistical Bulletin "Statistics from the Regional Drug Misuse Databases for six months ending March 2001".
	2. The Office for National Statistics have derived an area classification of health authorities for Great Britain which includes the category "coalfields" published as "The ONS classification of local and health authorities of Great Britain: revised for authorities in 1999—ISBN 1 85774 355 5".

Intermediate Care

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the allocation of funds for intermediate care planned for each financial year; and if he will list the commitments to spend made by each (a) health authority, (b) health trust and (c) Government office region.

Jacqui Smith: The NHS Plan announced an extra £900 million annually by 2003–04 for new intermediate care and related services to promote independence and improve quality of care for older people.
	Further details are in HSC 2002–01, LAC (2001) 01, published in January 2001, a copy of which is in the Library.
	Spending commitments for future years are not available by health authority (HA), trust and region. However, annual performance monitoring within a given financial year provides details of expenditure by HA and region and projections to the relevant year-end.

Parliamentary Questions

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on the number of parliamentary questions yet to be answered by his Department; how many members (a) are waiting for replies to parliamentary questions and (b) have suffered delays of six months or more in waiting for responses to parliamentary questions; and how many parliamentary questions tabled before the Christmas Recess 2001 have yet to be answered by his Department;
	(2)  if he will make a statement on the investigation into the falsification of answers to parliamentary questions within his Department; what measures he will take to ensure that parliamentary questions are replied to promptly; and what measures he will take to ensure that falsification of answers to parliamentary questions does not recur.

John Hutton: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health (Mr. Milburn) gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Ellesmere Port and Neston (Mr. Miller) on 25 March 2002, Official Report, column 756–59W.

Parliamentary Questions

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will reply to WPQ numbers (a) 9416, (b) 9403, (c) 8710, (d) 10282, (e) 10262, (f) 11000, (g) 10998, (h) 11957, (i) 12914, (j) 12918 and (k) 13108.

Hazel Blears: pursuant to the reply, 5 March 2002, c. 275W
	Replies to the hon. Member's questions were given as follows:
	
		
			 WPQ number Date Official Report column 
		
		
			 9416 21 January 2002 665W 
			 8710 21 January 2002 665W 
			 9403 20 November 2001 242W 
			 10262 15 January 2002 248W 
			 10282 18 January 2002 530W 
			 11000 23 November 2001 568W 
			 10998 5 December 2001 363W 
			 11957 25 February 2002 938W 
			 12914 12 March 2002 992W 
			 12918 25 February 2002 934–36W 
			 13108 31 January 2002 560W

Justices of the Peace

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many members of staff at his Department are Justices of the Peace; and if he has a strategy for his Department to encourage members of staff to become Justices of the Peace.

Hazel Blears: The Department does not record details of civil service staff who are Justices of the Peace.
	Section 50 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA) requires employers to allow their staff reasonable time off for public duties. The Civil Service Management Code (paragraph 9.2.5) also requires Departments to allow time off for attendance required by section 50 of the ERA 1996.
	Special leave policy rests with individual Departments and agencies who are free to decide on the amounts of special leave, the circumstances for which it is granted and whether such leave is paid or unpaid.
	As part of its commitment to encouraging staff to be active in the community, the Department has a special leave policy that allows staff who are Justices of the Peace an annual limit of 18 days paid leave as well as reasonable time for travelling to permit up to 26 attendances.

Mental Health

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many of the pledged (a) secure beds, (b) 24-hour staffed beds and (c) assertive outreach teams with patient access available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for those with complex mental health needs are in place; and how many he estimates there will be by April.

Jacqui Smith: The targets set in the NHS Plan for April 2001 were all achieved on time. These included over 500 additional secure beds, over 320 additional 24-hour staffed beds, 170 assertive outreach teams and access to services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for all those with complex mental health needs. At April 2002 the latest forecast figures show that there will be:
	199 assertive outreach teams in operation
	4,435 24-hour staffed beds.
	Forecast figures for the number of secure psychiatric beds at April 2002 have not been collected. The outturn figure for beds at various levels of security for 2000–01 was 4,860. Current monitoring arrangements for secure beds do not include provision of forecasts. The mental health service mapping provides numbers of secure beds as at September 2001, and the bed availability and occupancy annual returns provide bed occupancy rates by ward classification, of which "secure unit: other ages" is a mental illness ward classification.

NHS Finance

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how much money was lent under the NHS brokerage system in each of the last five years; and (a) by whom and (b) to whom;
	(2)  how much money is owed and (a) by whom and (b) to whom, under the NHS brokerage system;
	(3)  how much money was repaid under the NHS brokerage system in each of the last five years; and (a) by whom and (b) to whom.

John Hutton: The information requested has been placed in the Library. All brokerage within the national health service is managed centrally and not between individual health bodies. Information for 2001–02 is not yet finalised.

Correspondence

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the target time is for his Department to reply to letters from (a) hon. Members and (b) members of the public; and what the time is that it has been taking his Department to reply to letters from (i) hon. Members and (ii) members of the public in the last six months.

Hazel Blears: Information is published annually by the Cabinet Office on the volume of correspondence from Members of Parliament received by Ministers and agency chief executives, Departments' and Agencies' handling targets, and their performance in meeting these targets. The report for 2001 is due to be published shortly.

Correspondence

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Leominster dated 17 January, concerning the payment of widows' pensions under the NHS Pension Scheme.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 10 April 2002
	The Department has no record of receiving this correspondence. The Department's Ministerial Correspondence Unit is seeking a copy of this correspondence.

Cottage Hospitals

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the cottage hospitals which have been (a) opened and (b) closed since 1997.

Hazel Blears: Information on hospital closures ceased to be collected in 1991 following the introduction of the national health service internal market and trusts.
	Community and cottage hospitals play an important role in providing care closer to home, for example in carrying out day surgery, minor procedures and caring for patients in the recuperative phases of recovery from illness or accident. These hospitals will help us meet our target of introducing an additional 5,000 intermediate care beds by 2004, of which more than 2,400 are already in place.

Cottage Hospitals

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many beds in cottage hospitals there were in each of the past five years.

Hazel Blears: The information is not collected centrally.
	Data on bed numbers are collected annually at national health service trust level, rather than by individual hospital site. Information on bed availability and occupancy is available on the Department's website www.doh.gov.uk/ hospitalactivity.

New Hospital Beds

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many extra NHS beds have been introduced in (a) total, (b) general and (c) acute wards since the publication of the national plan.

John Hutton: In the general and acute sector in England, the number of beds available in 2000–01 increased by over 700 to 135,794 compared with the year before. This represents a third of the target of 2,100 extra general and acute beds set out in the NHS Plan. Further information is shown in the table.
	
		Average daily number of available beds by certain sectors, England, 1999–2000 to 2000–01
		
			  Available beds  
			 Sector 1999–2000 2000–01 Net change 
		
		
			 All ward types 186,290 186,091 -199 
			 Acute 107,218 107,956 738 
			 Geriatric 27,862 27,838 -24 
			 General and acute (acute plus geriatric) 135,080 135,794 714 
		
	
	Source:
	Department of Health form KH03

Hospital Food

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many unannounced inspections of the quality of hospital food have taken place since the introduction of the NHS National Plan.

Hazel Blears: The NHS Plan said that there would be unannounced inspections of the quality of hospital food.
	These inspections have been undertaken by patient environment action teams (PEATs) as part of the wider assessment of the quality of the environment in which patients are treated.
	The programme of PEAT visits commenced in 2000, and a further round of inspections is currently in process. To date a total of 1,060 unannounced inspections of the quality of food have been carried out, this figure will rise to 1,172 by the end of the current round of PEAT inspections.

Hospital Food

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many requests for each category of snack boxes there have been, expressed as a percentage of the overall number of requests;
	(2)  what percentage of hospitals make the full range of snack boxes available 24 hours of the day.

Hazel Blears: The requirement for hospitals to introduce a 24-hour catering service was included in the NHS Plan. The better hospital food programme, launched on 8 May 2001, set out details of the 24-hour service which should include a ward kitchen service, a snack box service and, by 2004, a light bite service. £4 million was issued to NHS trusts in January 2001 to assist in setting up 24-hour services.
	The implementation pack issued to all national health service trusts in support of the better hospital food programme included three examples of snack boxes. However hospitals are not required to introduce these exact versions—each hospital should determine the types of snack box(es) used, and their precise contents, taking into account patient-mix and the advice of catering managers, nursing staff and dietitians.
	Information relating to the types of snack boxes in use, and the numbers of requests, is not collected centrally.

Hospital Food

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what role dieticians play in (a) advising and (b) checking on nutritional values in food in the NHS.

Hazel Blears: The better hospital food programme, announced in the NHS Plan, is a long-term initiative designed to improve the quality, availability of and access to food in NHS hospitals. It is supported by the investment of £38.5 million over four years.
	It is increasingly being recognised that ensuring patients, many of whom enter hospital malnourished or over-nourished, receive and can benefit form adequate and appropriate nutrition plays a key part in the overall healthcare they receive and can lead to speedier recovery, reduced length of stay, reduced incidence of post operative complications such as pressure sores and poor wound healing and may lead to reduced expenditure on drugs, particularly antibiotics, used to combat these.
	Hospital dieticians have a crucial role to play in ensuring that these benefits are realised through: advising on the formulation of hospital menus to ensure that nutritional standards are delivered for all patients, including those with specific dietary need; monitoring the nutritional intake of patients, particularly those at greatest risk; and advising individual patients on the nutritional values of foods, in order to help them make informed choices about their food intake to meet both their dietary needs and those of their clinical condition.
	To this end NHS Estates has been working closely with representatives of the British Dietetic Association who are developing a consensus statement on "Food Service and the State Registered Dietitian" which will cover standards for the professions in a number of key areas: nutritional analysis of recipes and menus; diet coding definitions and standard glossary of terms. This will be a key document enabling standard criteria to be applied across the NHS.
	Additionally, an ad hoc working group which includes nutritional experts, representatives of the British Dietetic Association, NHS dietitians and nurses is devising principles for nutritional screening which will facilitate the measurement of both under and over nutrition on entry to hospital. This will allow early intervention of clinical and dietetic staff to address problems which, unchecked, may lead to prolonged ill health. In addition research will be undertaken to establish the clinical outcomes of improved nutrition and to provide a tool to ensure that the nutritional aims of the better hospital food programme are taking effect.

Hospital Food

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of NHS trusts have introduced a 24-hour catering service.

Hazel Blears: The requirement for hospitals to introduce a 24-hour catering service was included in the NHS Plan. The better hospital food programme, launched on 8 May 2001, set out details of the 24-hour service which should include a ward kitchen service, a snack box service and, by 2004, a light bite service. £4 million was issued to national health service trusts in January 2001 to assist in setting up 24-hour services.
	The most recent returns from acute NHS trusts shows that 69 per cent. of hospitals have introduced ward kitchen services and 66 per cent. provide snack boxes. No figures are yet available regarding the number that have introduced light bite services.

Hospital Food

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of hospitals have successfully adopted the new NHS menus.

John Hutton: The Better Hospital Food programme, which was launched in May 2001, is supported by the provision of £38.5 million over four years. It is a longer term initiative designed to improve the quality, availability of and access to food in hospitals.
	The programme has set a number of targets for the national health service to achieve, including the incorporation into menus of dishes designed for the NHS by a team of leading chefs.
	Latest returns from acute hospitals show that by the end of April two thirds of hospitals will include at least three of the 'leading chef' dishes in their menus.
	The majority of those hospitals which are still working towards this target are those which use external suppliers. NHS Estates are working closely with the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency and the external manufacturers to increase the availability of 'leading chef' dishes from these sources so that hospitals with delivered meals services can move swiftly to incorporate them in their menus.

Toothbrushes

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many free toothbrushes have been handed out under the Brushing for Life campaign; and what has been the cost per toothbrush.

John Hutton: To date 186,050 packs have been distributed as part of the Brushing for Life scheme. Each pack contains a toothbrush, a tube of toothpaste and a leaflet.
	The toothbrushes in the packs cost 44 pence each.

Cystic Fibrosis

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason adult cystic fibrosis sufferers are not entitled to free prescriptions.

Hazel Blears: No adult is entitled to free prescriptions unless they fall within one of the following groups:
	people aged 18 who are in full-time education;
	people aged 60 and over;
	people who hold an exemption certificate on maternity or medical grounds;
	people who get, or whose partner gets, income support, income-based jobseeker's allowance, full tax credit or credit reduced by £72.20 or less;
	people who are named on an HC2 charges certificate issued under the NHS low income scheme.
	Cystic fibrosis sufferers who fall into these categories will be entitled to free prescriptions, but cystic fibrosis is not one of the conditions which, of itself, can lead to the issue of a medical exemption certificate. These conditions are set out in the National Health Service (Charges for Drugs and Appliances) Regulations 2000 (SI 2000/620).

Cystic Fibrosis

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 15 March 2002, Official Report, column 1291W, on cystic fibrosis, what plans to has to reduce the number of conditions which entitle the sufferer to free prescriptions.

Hazel Blears: We have no plans to reduce the number of conditions which entitle the sufferer to free prescriptions.

Cleanliness

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how the board member nominated to take personal responsibility for monitoring hospital cleanliness will be held responsible for any failure;
	(2)  what percentage of NHS trusts have not nominated a board member to take responsibility for monitoring hospital cleanliness.

Hazel Blears: It was a requirement of the NHS Plan that every national health service trust should nominate a board member to take responsibility for monitoring hospital cleanliness and report to the board following regular check-ups. Each NHS trust board takes collective responsibility, and overall accountability rests with the chief executive. The new national standards of cleanliness for the NHS, issued by NHS Estates in April 2001, set out clearly what is required.
	There have been no reported instances where a trust has failed to nominate a board member to monitor hospital cleanliness.

Cleanliness

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the National Standards of Cleanliness for the national health service applies to the cleanliness of individual patients; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: The National Standards of Cleanliness for the national health service apply to buildings in which health care is delivered, not patients.

Hospital Waiting Lists

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients have been waiting over 15 months on the in-patient waiting list for (a) each quarter since March 1997 and (b) each month since January 2001.

John Hutton: The data requested are shown in the tables. Table 1 provides quarterly statistics from March 1997 onwards and table 2 provides monthly statistics from January 2001 onwards.
	
		Table 1: Quarterly statistics—number of patients on the in-patient waiting list waiting over 15 months on the last day of the period: England (HA based)
		
			 Year/quarter 15 months plus 
		
		
			 1996–97  
			 4 6,000 
			   
			 1997–98  
			 1 11,000 
			 2 15,000 
			 3 18,000 
			 4 17,000 
			   
			 1998–99  
			 1 18,000 
			 2 15,000 
			 3 14,000 
			 4 10,000 
			   
			 1999–2000  
			 1 12,000 
			 2 12,000 
			 3 13,000 
			 4 12,000 
			 2000–01  
			 1 13,000 
			 2 13,000 
			 3 13,000 
			 4 11,000 
			   
			 2001–02  
			 1 12,000 
			 2 10,000 
			 3 4,000 
		
	
	Source:
	DH QF01 return
	
		Table 2: Monthly statistics—number of patients on the in-patient waiting list waiting over 15 months at the end of the period: England (HA based)
		
			 Year/month 15 months plus 
		
		
			 2000–01  
			 January 13,000 
			 February 13,000 
			 March 11,000 
			   
			 2001–02  
			 April 11,000 
			 May 11,000 
			 June 12,000 
			 July 11,000 
			 August 11,000 
			 September 10,000 
			 October 8,000 
			 November 4,000 
			 December 4,000 
			   
			 2002–03  
			 January 3,000 
			 February 2,000 
		
	
	Source:
	DH monthly waiting list returns

NHS Funding

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in relation to the £120 million in his Department's spring supplementary estimate 2001–02 designated for take-up of end year flexibility, how much relates to (a) NHS trusts, (b) health authorities and (c) other NHS bodies; and which trusts, health authorities and other bodies received end year flexibility and the amount involved in each case.

John Hutton: holding answer 26 March 2002
	The £120 million end year flexibility related to the Department's unallocated provision and was not allocated to individual NHS bodies in 2000–01. It did not form part of the end year flexibility arrangements for NHS bodies.
	Adjustments to health authorities resource limits in 2001–02 as a result of health authorities and NHS trusts underspending in 2000–01 are set out in tables, copies of which have been placed in the Library. There were no adjustments for other NHS bodies.

Appointments

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of appointments were booked electronically in the last year.

John Hutton: The information requested is not currently available centrally.
	The NHS Plan states that there will be electronic booking of appointments for patient treatment by the end of 2005. Implementing electronic booking systems is being taken forward as a long-term, four-year, implementation project as part of the NHS Modernisation Agency's National Booked Admissions Programme. Monitoring arrangements for electronic booking are being developed as part of the implementation project work programme.

Appointments

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many GP appointments were missed in each year since 1997; and how his Department plans to reduce this.

John Hutton: holding answer 10 April 2002
	These data are not collected or held centrally. However, we are concerned by the impact of missed appointments on primary care services and have funded "Doctor/Patient Partnership" campaigns on this since 1997. In addition, the national primary care development team is now working with general practitioners to help them to offer more responsive and timely access for patients. For participating practices this approach has led to substantial reductions in missed appointments.

Ophthalmology Waiting Times

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average outpatient ophthalmology waiting times have been for each quarter of the last five years.

John Hutton: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		Average (median) waiting times for first out-patient appointment following general practitioner referral: ophthalmology
		
			 Year/quarter Median (weeks) 
		
		
			 1996–97 8.24 
			 4  
			   
			 1997–98  
			 1 8.19 
			 2 8.39 
			 3 8.24 
			 4 8.46 
			   
			 1998–99  
			 1 8.64 
			 2 9.12 
			 3 9.10 
			 4 9.62 
			   
			 1999–2000  
			 1 9.32 
			 2 9.89 
			 3 9.99 
			 4 9.95 
			 2000–01  
			 1 9.08 
			 2 9.58 
			 3 9.39 
			 4 9.39 
			   
			 2001–02  
			 1 8.53 
			 2 8.90 
			 3 8.90 
		
	
	Source:
	DH QM08 form

Marfan Syndrome

Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many post mortems revealed Marfan syndrome in each of the last 10 years for which records are available.

Ruth Kelly: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Nigel Jones, dated 17 April 2002
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your question concerning how many post mortems revealed Marfan's syndrome in each of the last 10 years for which records are available. (44843)
	The figures requested are given in the table below. The data are only available in this form from 1993 onwards.
	
		Number of deaths where a post mortem was carried out and Marfan's syndrome was subsequently noted on the death certificate, England and Wales, calendar years 1993 to 2000(23),(24)
		
			  Number of deaths where Marfan's syndrome was:  
			  Calendar year The underlying cause of death(25) Mentioned on the death certificate only(26) 
		
		
			 1993 12 3 
			 1994 12 4 
			 1995 20 4 
			 1996 14 3 
			 1997 15 5 
			 1998 14 1 
			 1999 13 2 
			 2000 8 2 
		
	
	(23) Data relate to deaths occurring per calendar year.
	(24) No inference can be made from these data as to whether Marfan's syndrome was diagnosed before or after death.
	(25) The underlying cause of death is the disease or condition that initiates the train of morbid events leading directly to death.
	(26) When a disease or condition was not the underlying cause of death but was noted on the death certificate but not coded to the underlying cause.

Psychiatric Wards

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 11 March 2002, Official Report, column 811W, on ward refurbishment, which hospitals and institutions will have their psychiatric wards refurbished as a consequence of the dedicated budget established in 2001–02.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 10 April 2002
	The £15 million total consists of two separate funding sources. £10 million additional funding for mental health was allocated to regions on a weighted capitation basis for the refurbishment/redecoration of psychiatric wards; updating information technology; the provision of alternatives to acute admissions; and voluntary sector support. Details of how this funding was allocated locally are not held centrally.
	The remaining £5 million was the first tranche of a special budget of £30 million over two years and those NHS trusts which benefited from this are listed.
	Portsmouth Healthcare NHS Trust (St. James Hospital)
	Berkshire Healthcare NHS Trust (Fairmile Hospital)
	Avon and Wiltshire Partnership Mental Health Trust (Barrow Hospital) 1
	East London and City Mental Health Trust (St. Clements)
	Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health Trust (St. Anne's)
	County Durham and Darlington Priority Services NHS Trust (the Gables and County Hospital, the Pierremont Unit)
	Tees and North East Yorkshire NHS Trust (St. Lukes, Middlesbrough)
	Worcester Community and MH NHS Trust (Redditch, Bromsgrove, Worcester and Kidderminster)
	Coventry Healthcare Trust (Caludon Centre)
	Shropshire Community NHS Trust (Telford and Wrekin, Shrewsbury)
	North Birmingham Mental Health NHS Trust (Small Heath)
	South Birmingham Mental Health NHS Trust (Queen Elizabeth Hospital)
	Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Trust (Lister and QE2 Hospitals) 1
	Rotherham Priority Health Services NHS Trust (Rotherham)
	Doncaster and South Humber Healthcare Trust (Scunthorpe)
	North Sefton and West Lancashire Community NHS Trust (Ormskirk and District General) 1
	Tameside and Glossop Community and Priority Services NHS Trust (Wards 35–36)
	St. Helen's and Knowsley Hospital NHS Trust (Whiston Hospital).
	1 Scheme spans more than one year and full allocation not spent in 2001–02.

Firework-related Injuries

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) steps are being taken and (b) investment is being made, to reduce firework-related injuries.

Melanie Johnson: I have been asked to reply.
	The comprehensive measures introduced by the Firework (Safety) Regulations 1997 and actively enforced by Trading Standards Departments are supplemented by robust and targeted safety campaigns to warn consumers of the dangers of misusing.

Prescriptions

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of prescriptions were issued electronically in the last year.

Hazel Blears: The proportion of prescriptions produced by computer and issued electronically by general practitioners in the last year was between 60 and 80 per cent. dependent on which health authority area the GP was situated.

Mixed-sex Wards

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether newly constructed hospitals comprise (a) wards assigned solely to either male or female patients and (b) subdivided bays.

John Hutton: Guidance on the requirements for new accommodation is given in Health Building Notes and Design Guides HBN 4 "In-patient accommodation—options for choice". The guidance provides national health service trusts with design solutions to meet the requirements of privacy, dignity and safety. Additional guidance on achieving single sex accommodation "Enhancing Privacy and Dignity" has been issued.

Out-patients

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of patients awaiting their first out-patient appointment have been waiting over six months.

John Hutton: Information regarding the total stock of out-patient waiters is not collected. However, published out-patient activity statistics show that 5 per cent. of patients referred by general practitioners who were seen during the period October to December 2001 had been waiting longer than 26 weeks.

Primary Care Trusts

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he expects primary care trusts to devolve control of budgets to practice level.

John Hutton: Primary care trusts (PCTs) may develop indicative budgets at practice or locality level to make explicit resource use within a PCT, encourage fairer more transparent allocation of resources and enable primary care to lever strategic change within local health communities.
	Incentive schemes created in conjunction with the development of indicative budgets encourage general practitioners to understand and reflect on their current practice and innovate. PCTs in consultation with practices and through the development of a local health improvement and modernisation programme should develop and agree a commissioning plan for the PCT as a whole, reflecting the health needs of local communities. This two-way dialogue allows PCTs to secure services for their populations that general practitioners and other primary and community health professionals identify as being necessary. Work is in hand to scope how PCTs and practices could be supported to develop indicative budgets at practice level. This could be through developing a national framework or local models of good practice.

Learning Disabilities

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on the provision of village communities for people with learning disabilities.

Jacqui Smith: Our policy on services for people with learning disabilities, their families and carers is set out in the White Paper "Valuing People: A New Strategy for Learning Disability for the 21st Century" published in March 2001. This was supplemented by guidance to local authorities and the national health service in August 2001.
	Our objective for housing is to enable people with learning disabilities and their families to have greater choice and control over where and how they live. People with learning disabilities can live successfully in different types of housing including small-scale ordinary housing, supported living and village and residential communities as well as residential care. We expect local authorities to ensure that all housing options are considered when they are exploring the future housing, care and support needs of people with learning disabilities and their families.
	Councils should respect the preferences of individuals and their families, wherever the preferred options will meet individuals' assessed needs and are affordable. Where there is limited demand for a particular option, councils and housing authorities may need to consider joining with neighbouring authorities to encourage the development of a greater range of provision.
	Learning disability partnership boards have been set up in each local authority area to oversee and advise on implementation of the Valuing People programme. Boards have been asked to produce local housing strategies for people with learning disabilities by winter 2002–03. The Department and the Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions will issue shortly guidance about this for learning disability partnership boards.

NHS Expenditure

Peter Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the expenditure on the NHS was as a proportion of the GDP of England in the last 12 months; and to what extent he collates information about NHS expenditure in Scotland as a percentage of Scottish GDP in order to assess his progress towards meeting his targets.

John Hutton: The gross domestic product (GDP) for England is not yet available for 2001–02. The latest available GDP for England is for 1999 and is published by the Office of National Statistics in 'Regional Trends' which is available in the Library. Figures for later years are available on a United Kingdom basis only.
	The Government's target for health care investment is for the whole of the United Kingdom. NHS expenditure in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is therefore collected by the Department in order to calculate total national health service expenditure in the United Kingdom.
	Planned NHS expenditure in the United Kingdom for 2001–02 was 6.3 per cent. of GDP. This means that total healthcare expenditure, including private healthcare, as a percentage of GDP last year was 7.3 per cent. rising to 7.6 per cent. by 2003–04 based on latest expenditure plans.

Woodside Adolescent Unit

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the proposed closure of the Woodside Adolescent Unit at West Park Epsom.

Hazel Blears: The changing need for child and adolescent mental health services is expected to render the in-patient service at Woodside Unit unviable, in its current form, from April 2003.
	Surrey Oaklands NHS Trust is continuing to work with the health authority and local primary care trusts to explore options for the reprovision of services, retaining locally accessible services where possible. This will be linked to continuing work to develop local care models with alternatives to hospital admission.

Drugs

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what drugs approved by NICE are unavailable nationwide; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what regulations apply to (a) local community care trusts, (b) health authorities and (c) hospital trusts regarding the prescription of drugs accepted by NICE; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what powers doctors possess to prescribe drugs in contravention of local authority policy; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: Health authorities and primary care trusts are under a statutory obligation set out in Directions to provide appropriate funding for treatments recommended by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE). The Directions were made using powers in the National Health Service Act 1977 and came into force on 1 January 2002. The Directions were introduced as part of the Government's strategy to ensure consistency of access to treatments recommended by NICE and deemed appropriate by clinicians for their individual patients. Funding is provided in baseline allocations to meet these commitments.

Brain Injury

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much of its research budget is allocated for research into traumatic brain injury rehabilitation.

Jacqui Smith: The main Government agency for research into the causes of and treatments for disease is the Medical Research Council (MRC) which receives its funding via the Department of Trade and Industry. The MRC supports a large amount of basic underpinning work on how the brain responds to injury of all types and on neural regeneration, which will inform research on rehabilitation after traumatic head injury. The MRC's expenditure specifically on rehabilitation after traumatic head injury (i.e. excluding the underpinning work) was £835,000 in 2001–02.
	The Department commissions research to support policy and the delivery of effective practice in health and social care. The Department has directly funded projects relating to brain and head injury, some of which are on rehabilitation, with total estimated expenditure of about £125,000 for 2001–02. The Department funded a major project on rehabilitation of brain injured adults, which was completed in 1997, at a total cost of approximately £1.2 million.
	In addition to specific projects, the Department also provides support for research commissioned by charities and the MRC that takes place in the NHS. Management of much of the research supported in this way is devolved, and expenditure at project level is not held centrally.
	Details of ongoing and recently completed research projects taking place in, funded by, or of interest to, the national health service are available on the National Research Register (NRR) at www.doh.gov.uk/research/ nrr.htm. The NRR shows that there are considerable number of research related to brain and head injury.

Brain Injury

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the timetable is for the publication of NICE guidelines on the handling of brain-injured patients; whether the guidelines will include long-term rehabilitation issues; and if he will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: The National Institute for Clinical Excellence provisional publication date for their Head Injury Guideline is February 2003. I understand that the guideline will not address the rehabilitation or long term care of patients with a head injury, but the guideline will provide criteria for the early identification of patients who will benefit from rehabilitation.

Brain Injury

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if the proposed National Service Framework for long-term conditions will include those arising from head injury; and what interim action will be taken to improve rehabilitation services before publication of that framework.

Jacqui Smith: Ministers will decide the scope of the National Service Framework (NSF) for long-term conditions shortly. The Government's response to the Health Select Committee third report, "Head Injury: Rehabilitation", states that the NSF is expected to set standards for the care and treatment of people with long-term conditions, including head injury. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence is producing a clinical guideline for the initial assessment, management and first referral of patients with head injury, which is likely to inform the development of standards for the NSF.
	In the meanwhile we will continue to work with the voluntary and professional organisations to identify and consider how to address shortfalls in rehabilitation services for people with head injury.

NHS Staff (Assaults)

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 15 March 2002, Official Report, column 1289W, on assaults on NHS staff, when he expects to complete the analysis of the reported violent incidents on NHS staff; when he expects to publish the report; and if he will place a copy in the Library.

John Hutton: The analysis of data collected on the levels of reported violent incidents, together with data on the levels of reported accidents and sickness absence should be complete by the end of May and a copy placed in the Library.

Nursing Care

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 18 March 2002, Official Report, column 172W, on nursing care, when he expects to publish the core contract; and if he will place a copy in the Library.

Jacqui Smith: The model contract was issued to the national health service on 8 March. A copy is available on the Department's website at www.doh.gov.uk/ jointunit/freenursingcare.htm. Copies have also been placed in the Library.

No Secrets Guidance

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 26 March 2002, Official Report, column 941W, regarding no secrets guidance, when he expects the Centre for Policy on Ageing to conclude its analysis; and if he will put this document in the Library.

Jacqui Smith: We expect that the Centre for Policy on Ageing is to conclude its analysis by the beginning of July 2002 and it will be placed in the Library. At that time we will consider what good practice issues have emerged and decide whether some dissemination of the findings would be beneficial.

NHS Professionals

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on contracting with the private sector to undertake functions of NHS Professionals; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: holding answer 1 March 2002
	The aim is that NHS Professionals will be used by all NHS organisations as the primary supplier of all temporary staffing requirements for the NHS with, as and when necessary, contracts agreed with commercial agencies to meet any surplus demand.
	Plans are currently being developed regarding the undertaking of framework agreements across regional and national boundaries for a number of staff groups.

Hospital Repairs

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the hospital repairs backlog is; and what his estimate is of the cost of eliminating it.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 25 March 2002
	The NHS Plan made clear our objectives of improving the patient environment and announces further significant investment in the national health service estate.
	The currently available figure (2000–01) for the total backlog maintenance cost to bring NHS Trust property in England up to an acceptable condition is £3.16 billion.
	The cost required to eliminate this backlog depends on a number of factors, including the extent to which major capital investment and disposals of property impact upon the amount of additional capital required. Since investment plans are currently under review it is not possible to provide a cost for the elimination of backlog costs at this point in time.

Health and Safety

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of the NHS estate is compliant with health and safety requirements.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 25 March 2002
	In 1999, we set targets for the reduction in health and safety backlog within national health service trusts in England one of which required health and safety backlog costs to be reduced by 90 per cent. by 31 March 2002. In addition, we planned to invest £7 billion in the NHS estate to bring the quality and safety of NHS buildings up to acceptable levels.
	We have an ongoing monitoring and performance programme to support the NHS in delivering these targets. The speed at which NHS trusts are meeting these targets depends on a number of factors, including the pace of investment and disposals, and figures are constantly changing.

Health Services (Barnet)

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the availability of out of hours health services in (a) Barnet and (b) Hendon.

John Hutton: holding answer 25 March 2002
	General practitioner (GP) out of hours services are provided in Barnet and Hendon by three GP co-operatives and by two commercial deputising services. Out of hours health services are also provided by NHS Direct and by local accident and emergency departments, as well as by the urgent treatment centre at Edgware hospital.

London Ambulance Service

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of (a) the capacity and (b) the performance of London Ambulance Service answering 999 calls in Barnet at night; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: holding answer 25 March 2002
	The borough of Barnet is principally served by three London Ambulance Service (LAS) stations—Friern Barnet, Barnet and Mill Hill. The LAS will always send the nearest available ambulance to every call, so resources based at these stations will sometimes also be supported by vehicles from other areas.
	Between the hours of 11 pm and 7 am the LAS always plans to have at least four ambulances covering the area—one each running out of Barnet and Friern Barnet and two from Mill Hill. Three other ambulances are also operated until the early hours, finishing between midnight and 2 am. As well as these and ambulances based in other local boroughs, the service also runs an extra ambulance, deployed by Central Ambulance Control, to provide additional operational cover where it is most needed in any area of the LAS north-west sector.
	During the month of February LAS performance in Barnet between 11 pm and 7 am was above the London average for LAS performance.

Efficiency Gains

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what, in equivalent percentage terms, the efficiency and other value for money gains in the operation of his Department were in (a) 1999–2000, (b)2000–01 and (c) 2001–02.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 25 March 2002
	Information is not available in the form requested, as direct comparisons in percentage terms would not be meaningful. Since 1999, the Department's work has altered significantly in the light of the changes set out in the NHS Plan and a subsequent review of the Department's operation.
	Over the period in question, the Department has made the savings necessary to deliver its business plan within the running costs limits agreed in the comprehensive spending review. The Department's activities have been refocused on delivery of the NHS Plan. In addition, efficiency savings have been achieved through improved purchasing procedures to deliver improvements in value for money, improved project management, and reviewing accommodation use to improve the utilisation of space.

Contractor Fraud

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list over the period 1999–2000 to 2001–02 the savings that were made on action on contractor fraud broken down by (a) cash recoveries and (b) prevention savings.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 25 March 2002
	The answer is set out in the tables:
	
		Pharmaceutical contractor fraud outputs—Prevention(27)
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 December 1998 to March 1999(28) 52,882 
			 April 1999 to March 2000 2,103,119 
			 April 2000 to March 2001 3,189,111 
			 April 2001 to March 2002 3,972,342 
			  
			 Total 9,317,454 
		
	
	
		Pharmaceutical contractor fraud outputs—Recoveries
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 December 1998 to March 2000 (29)2,251,815 
			 April 2000 to March 2001 3,097,676 
			 April 2001 to February 2002(30) 2,130,260 
			  
			 Total 7,479,751 
		
	
	(27) Figures relate to the prevention of continuing fraud.
	(28) Progress tracked since December 1998 when PSA targets on pharmaceutical contractor fraud for the period to the end of 2001–02 were published.
	(29) Figure relates to all recoveries December 1998 to March 2000.
	(30) Recovery figures for March 2002 not yet available.

NHS Targets

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received from health authorities, PCTs and NHS trusts as to their ability to achieve NHS Plan and NSF targets in 2002–03.

John Hutton: holding answer 25 March 2002
	The annual planning cycle provides opportunity for dialogue between the national health service and the Department in relation to delivery of priorities, financial pressures and the management of risk. The process of agreeing service and financial frameworks involves a round of negotiations through which we aim to agree, in aggregate terms, a plan for the NHS to maximise performance while identifying the contribution of individual health systems.
	From April 2002 onwards the responsibility for performance management of the NHS is being devolved to 28 new strategic health authorities (StHAs). Chief executives of the new StHAs will be accountable for delivery of national priorities as part of 3-year franchise agreements. StHAs will hold the ring for NHS organisations in their respective patches and need to ensure that the commitments to which they will be held to account for delivering are achievable.

Invoice Payment

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of undisputed invoices were paid by his Department within 30 days or the agreed contracted terms otherwise specified in (a) 1997–98, (b) 1998–99, (c) 1999–2000, (d) 2000–01 and (e) 2001–02.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 25 March 2002
	The number and proportion of bills paid within 30 days by the Department were as follows.
	
		
			On Time  Late  
			   Number Percentage Number Percentage Total 
		
		
			 2001–02 (to Feb) 324,006 96.24 12,666 3.76 336,672 
			 2000–01 324,566 96.08 13,233 3.92 337,799 
			 1999–2000 374,413 95.83 16,297 4.17 390,710 
			 1998–99 374,787 94.5 21,646 5.5 396,433 
			 1997–98 n/a 95.3 n/a 4.7 n/a 
		
	
	n/a – not available

NHS Direct

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the annual cost of providing NHS Direct over the last two years for which figures are available.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 10 April 2002
	The table states the costs incurred in 2000–01 on a cash basis, and an estimate for the cash outturn for 2001–02 for comparative ease. The actual outturns have not been finalised yet.
	The costs include the full running costs of all NHS Direct activity, all set-up costs for establishing the call centre environment, developing and setting up new projects, the development and maintenance of the national clinical decision support system, and costs incurred centrally.
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 2000/01 90.1 
			 2001–02(31) 110.9 
		
	
	(31) Estimate

NHS Direct

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many complaints have been received from callers to NHS Direct about the service they received.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 10 April 2002
	In the Financial Year 2000–01, 148 written complaints were received about NHS Direct in England. This equates to one complaint in over 20,000 calls made to NHS Direct. Details of all written complaints can be found on the Department website: www.doh.gov.uk/nhscomplaints.
	National surveys conducted between December 1998 and January 2001 have consistently shown caller satisfaction levels between 90 and 97 per cent. This compares well with performance in private sector call centres and with similar services within the National Health Service despite the particularly demanding nature of NHS Direct's work.

NHS Direct

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many calls NHS Direct received between 24 December 2001 and 3 January.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 10 April 2002
	Between 24 December 2001 and 3 January 2002, NHS Direct handled 205,000 calls, 20 per cent. more calls than the same period in 2000–01.

NHS Direct

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many calls NHS Direct received in each of the last two years for which figures are available.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 10 April 2002
	Between 2000–01 and 2001–02, calls handled by NHS Direct increased by over 50 per cent. In the 2000–01 financial year, NHS Direct handled around 3,400,000 calls. In 2001–02, NHS Direct handled around 5,270,000 calls.

NHS Direct

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS Direct nurses came from (a) NHS hospitals and (b) accident and emergency departments.

John Hutton: Specific information, such as the previous employment of NHS Direct nurses, is not collected centrally.

Hospital Patients

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many routine NHS patients were treated in English NHS hospitals in the last quarter of (a) 2001 and (b) 1997.

John Hutton: holding answer 10 April 2002
	The number of elective admissions to National Health Service hospitals from October to December 1997 was 1,236,609. The figures are not yet available for 2001, but for the same period in 2000 there were 1,352,035 elective admissions.

Edgware Urgent Treatment Centre

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the impact the proposed overnight closure of Edgware UTC will have on (a) public confidence and support for the NHS in Hendon and (b) the willingness of the public to participate in NHS consultations and as lay representatives on consultative bodies; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the outcome of the public consultation exercise over the proposed night-time closure of Edgware Hospital UTC, indicating (a) the number of responses, (b) those supporting the closure and (c) those opposing the closure; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: holding answers 25 March and 10 April 2002
	In the light of the representations received, I have asked that the decision to close the overnight service at Edgware UTC be reviewed by the newly formed North Central London Strategic Health Authority.
	The review will be conducted in discussion with local stakeholders about how the best interests of patients and the NHS locally can be met.
	Pending the outcome of this review and Ministers' decisions, the UTC night time service will be maintained.

Edgware Urgent Treatment Centre

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the number of people attending the Edgware Hospital UTC and walk-in centre (a) in total and (b) between 10 pm and 7 am who are not registered with a GP; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: holding answer 25 March 2002
	We do not collect information on patients not registered with general practitioners. The national health service walk-in centres are not open between 10 pm and 7 am. On average, around 10 patients a night attend the urgent treatment centre after 10 pm.

Agencies (Maladministration)

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what payments have been made to individuals following findings of maladministration by ombudsmen with responsibility for agencies under the remit of his Department in the last 12 months; and what plans he has to review the powers to increase the level of awards that can be made in the last 12 months.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 10 April 2002
	There have been three payments totalling £33,100 for findings of maladministration made by the Department's agencies in the last 12 months. The judgments were all made by the pensions ombudsman.
	We have no plans to review the agency chief executives' delegations, which give them the powers to incur expenditure in this area. The pensions ombudsman's awards are binding and only subject to the Court of Appeal on a point of law. We have no powers to increase these awards.

NHS Estate

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of the value of the NHS Estate is less than 15-years-old.

John Hutton: holding answer 10 April 2002
	The current available percentage of the national health service estate, by value, that is less than 15-years-old, as established by the Valuation Office Agency in their survey carried out in the year 2000, is 11.5 per cent.
	Implementation of the planned capital investment in the NHS of around £7 billion by 2010 should see the achievement of the NHS Plan target of 40 per cent. of the NHS Estate, by value, being less than 15-years-old by the year 2010.

Elective Surgery

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospitals in England and Wales regularly use their operating theatres for elective surgery over weekends.

John Hutton: holding answer 10 April 2002
	Figures on the numbers of national health service trusts who use their operating theatres at the weekend are not collected centrally for England. Information relating to health services in Wales is a matter for the devolved Administration.

Drugs (Theft)

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the answer of 15 January 2002, Official Report, column 255W, on drugs theft, what the cost to the NHS has been of damage to property due to theft and fraud in each year since 1997.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 10 April 2002
	Figures on the cost to the NHS of damage to property due to theft and fraud are shown in the table.
	
		
			 Year £000 
		
		
			 1997–98 1,662 
			 1998–99 1,204 
			 1999–2000 1,270 
			 2000–01 1,383

Internal Fraud Investigators

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many internal fraud investigators his Department employs; and what plans he has to increase this number.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 10 April 2002
	The Department has recently expanded the remit of the national health service counter fraud service to cover internal fraud within the Department. The number of staff needed to carry out this work is under consideration.

Patient Consultations

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the answer of 25 February 2002, Official Report, column 938W, on patient consultations, what plans he has for a GP work load survey to be conducted by his Department to measure GP average consultation times.

John Hutton: holding answer 10 April 2002
	Previous surveys have been conducted jointly by the English, Welsh and Scottish Health Departments and the British Medical Association. A further joint work load survey is planned once the new GP contract has been agreed.

Hospital Cleaning Contracts

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department holds a central list of recommended cleaning contracting companies that local health authorities work from when awarding hospital cleaning contracts.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 10 April 2002
	The Department does not hold such a list. Contract cleaning services are procured by NHS trusts against the new national cleaning standards. Trusts will procure this service through advertisements placed in the European Journal. Health authorities are not involved in awarding contracts for cleaning NHS hospitals, only for their own administrative premises. A trust will award contracts on best value, taking into account operational and economic issues.

Epsom and St. Helier NHS Trust

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the London Regional Office will conclude its review of the Epsom and St. Helier NHS Trust in respect of its management of in-patient waiting lists; and if he will publish the findings.

John Hutton: pursuant to his reply, 12 February 2002, c.334W
	I regret that my previous reply was incorrect. It should read as follows.
	Epsom and St. Helier NHS Trust validates both its active and suspended list on a regular basis and is confident that their waiting lists are robust and accurate. A further validation was carried out by the trust themselves as a result of being identified as having a suspension rate greater than 10 per cent. Epsom and St. Helier was not identified as having adjusted inappropriately their waiting list figures.
	The regional office conducts robust validation of waiting list data from trusts and health authorities including following up any irregularities. The regional office does not consider that there is any reason to review waiting list information at Epsom and St. Helier NHS Trust. In the light of the National Audit Office report on 'Inappropriate Adjustment to NHS Waiting Lists' the Department of Health has asked the Audit Commission to introduce spot check of individual trust's waiting list and waiting time information during 2002. Details are still being finalised, but the work is scheduled to begin early in the new financial year.

Long-term Care

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 11 March 2002, Official Report, column 817W, on long-term care, what is the maximum length of time which payment of proceeds arising from the sale of a house can be deferred after entrance into residential care.

Jacqui Smith: The deferred payments scheme does not have any time limit that is set for a property to be sold. During their stay in residential accommodation the resident is the only person who can end the deferred payment. If a resident passes away then the deferred payment agreement is terminated, but their estate is not obliged to pay the amount owed to the council for a further 57 days.